Hearts Crossing [A Remile Story]

Date? [5]

"About me?" Emile repeated a little stunned.

"Mhm. Tell me about yourself."

"Umm.. okay. Well I like animation a lot. Cartoons are kind of my emotional release. They help me relax, and honestly provides pretty good material for my clients."

"That's pretty cool."

"Yeah, I guess it is."

Emile and Remy shared a smile. Before they knew it, what had started as a meeting to discuss medical care options turned into something more. They talked about their hobbies, favorite movies, and told each other stories about themselves. It was nearly an hour before the inevitable question came up.

"Do you have a favorite singer or anything like that?" Emile asked.

"Eh, not really. I used to be a big fan of R&B music, but I sorta stopped listening to it after... a while." Remy just barely caught himself.

"Aw, cool! I like more pop-y stuff. Roman Prince is my favorite!" Emile gushed. Remy could almost hear his heart throbbing.

"Can't say I'm a fan..."

"Really? I'd have thought you liked his songs." Emile said, clearly too caught up in his own thoughts to notice Remy's discomfort. "I've looked up to him for a while. He's so confident and happy with where he is in life. He's a trans icon!"

"He's a prick."

"He seems nice enough to me."

"Well he's not, okay?" Remy snapped. Emile looked at him, a trace of hurt in his eyes, and nodded.

"Okay... have you met him? I'm not questioning your opinion or anything, I just want to know why you dislike him so much."

"Yeah." Remy nodded. He refused to make eye contact, afraid that Emile would see the level of pain his eyes held. "Yeah, I've met him."

"Can I ask what he said or did?" Emile asked gently.

"I'd rather you not."

"Okay. That's fine."

They immediately dropped the subject and went back to talking about anything but music. The rest of the conversation went really well. At least Remy thought so. When it came time to pick up Kai, he didn't want to go. Still, he had to.

"Well it was great seeing you, babes." Remy said standing from the table. Emile stood with him. "I've got to get Kai home."

"Alright. I really liked seeing you, too. Maybe... after Kai is taken care of, of course... maybe we could do something like this again?"

"Yeah, sounds good. Are you free Friday night?"

"Uh-huh!" Emile nodded, a big smile on his face.

"Great. I'll text you details later."

"Okay!"

"Thanks for everything, Em. See you around."

"Bye!"

Remy waved goodbye and headed down the sidewalk, feeling like he was walking on the clouds. After he slowly came back down to Earth, he checked his watch. He had a few minutes to spare, as well as a little money left over since Emile had picked up the check. He got an idea and started running to the thrift store.

-------

"Da!" Kai yelled, running into Remy's arms. Their little body was racking with sobs. Remy immediately held them close.

"Head, chest, or legs?"

"Legs."

"Okay." Remy nodded, picking them up and carrying them out the door.

He walked down the street towards the train station holding his crying child in his arms. The two of them stayed mostly silent until they made it back to their apartment. Remy set Kai down on the bed and crouched down in front of them.

"Does it still hurt?"

"Y-Yeah." Kai sniffled.

"I'm sorry, kiddo." Remy said carding a hand through their hair. He managed to smile just a bit. "I've got something to tell you."

"What?"

"Do you remember the man from the train the other day?"

"Da one wit da pink hair?"

"That's the one. He helped me find a doctor to look at you. The doctor's going to help us figure out why you get those pains sometimes."

"Really?" Kai's face lit up.

"Yep! I'm going to call the doctor's office so we can see her on Thursday." Remy explained. Kai threw their arms around Remy's neck, hugging him as tightly as they could. They were overjoyed at the idea that they might be able to find out what the cause of their pain was.

"Tank you, Da!"

"No problem, honey." Remy smirked, letting go of Kai reaching into his messenger bag. "I've got one more surprise for you."

"What?" Kai asked, sitting cross legged on the bed.

"You have to close your eyes first."

"Mkay." Kai closed their eyes. Once Remy was sure that they weren't looking he pulled something out of his bag and placed it on Kai's lap.

"Okay. Open them!"

Kai opened their eyes and saw a big blue stuffed alien in front of them. They gasped and immediately hugged it. Remy's heart lit up for the second time that day. It was rare that he could afford anything besides food, bills, and sometimes clothes. He was so glad he was able to do this for them. He only wished he could do more.

"Tank you so much, Da!".

"Of course, sweetheart."

"It so soft." Kai said snuggling their head against the stuffed animal. While Kai played with their new toy, Remy walked to the laundromat to do their small load of laundry. By the time he got back Kai was laying on their side cuddling the blue alien.

"Sleepy?" Remy asked, starting work folding their clothes.

"Uh-huh."

"Get some sleep, kiddo."

"Mhmm." Kai rubbed their eyes. While they tried to get to sleep Remy kept folding tshirts. A few minutes passed in complete silence, besides the occasional sounds of traffic on the streets nearby. Then Kai spoke up. "Pink hair man help us get doctor?"

"Yep, he did."

"He like us?"

"Seems so."

"He like you?" Kai asked.

"Maybe." Remy admitted with a small smile. Kai sat up as he finished folding the laundry and crawled onto the bed with his little kid. He held them in his arms and rubbed their back to help them get to sleep. Before Kai fell asleep, they managed to ask one more question.

"But he better than ma, right?"

"Yes. I think he is."