(Trigger Warning: Heavy argument and swearing)
Remy spent Saturday morning cleaning up his apartment as much as he could. He couldn't fix the space issue or the creaky floorboards, but he made it look as nice as possible. Kai slept in that morning which turned out to be really helpful for Remy to not have to multitask. By the time ten o'clock rolled around the apartment was the nicest it had ever been and Kai was sitting on the bed with a plate of microwave waffles.
When Emile knocked on the door, Remy felt totally prepared.
"Morning, Remy!"
"Mornin' babes. Come on in." Remy said holding the door open for him. Emile walked in and his smile faltered for a second. Remy had expected that in full honesty. "Sorry if it's a bit tight in here."
"That's alright. I'm just a little.. surprised." Emile admitted.
"Hi Emmy." Kai waved from the bed.
"Hiya, Kai! Whatcha got there?"
"'Bekfast'."
"Looks yummy."
"Want some?" Kai offered, holding up their plate and immediately wincing.
"No thank you." Emile answered quickly. Remy sighed feeling helpless to do anything to ease their pain. Thankfully it would all be over soon.. Hopefully.
"So Em, this is where I keep Kai's medical stuff. There's some cream that Kati recommended to put on the biopsy site every once in a while, so that should probably go on a little after lunch." Remy explained. "Speaking of lunch, there's some microwavable meals in the minifridge. Kai prefers the one with mac 'n cheese but they'll also eat the one with spaghetti. But they can't eat the dessert until they finish the rest of it."
"Got it."
"We use my laptop to watch tv, so if Kai wants to watch something you just need to set it up on the bed."
"Okie dokie."
"I think that's everything, but if you have any questions at all please don't hesitate to text or call."
"I will." Emile smiled. He found it very endearing how Remy rambled on and on about how to take care of his kiddo. Emile was certain things would go smoothly, but he still appreciated being walked through everything.
"Okay." Remy nodded, taking a deep breath and kissing Kai's head. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Mkay, Da."
Remy hesitated to leave. Emile assumed that he was nervous about visiting his ex, so he held his arm for a second.
"Don't hesitate to text or call if something happens." He said quietly. Remy nodded and held the strap of his bag. "Alrighty. I promise I'll take great care of Kai."
"I know you will." Remy smiled. He took another deep breath and left. Now that it was just him and Kai, Emile sat on the edge of the bed waiting for them to finish their breakfast. Once Kai finished their waffles they held up the empty paper plate.
"All done."
"Okie dokie, kiddo!" Emile took the plate and set it on top of the microwave, unsure if he should throw it out or not. "What do you want to do now?"
"Play!" Kai clapped.
"Alrighty. Where do you keep your toys?" Emile asked. Kai pointed to the blanket in the corner where a small pile of action figures were laying. "Is this.. It?"
"Mhm." Kai nodded, reaching for the action figures. Emile took a second to get over just how little he was realizing Remy and his child had and handed the toys to Kai. While Kai started playing some sort of game with them in their head, Emile noticed that he recognized the figures.
"That's Zuko and Katara!" Emile smiled.
"Who?"
"They're characters from one of my favorite shows ever, Avatar: The Last Airbender!"
"Avatar?"
In that moment Emile knew exactly what they were going to do. He pulled out Remy's laptop and found Avatar online. Kai was instantly fixated on the show, climbing onto Emile's leg to watch it. Emile shifted around a bit to make Kai more comfortable. They snuggled into him and the two watched the cartoon together.
"I hope things are going this well for Remy." Emile thought.
-------
"I can do this.. I can do this.." Remy kept repeating the same phrase under his breath over and over again. It wasn't helping him, but he hoped it would start helping soon.
He had taken the train almost a full two hours before getting to the stop he needed to arrive at. His ex-boyfriend wasn't in the picture for Kai, but he still lived somewhat nearby.
Once Remy made it to the street his ex-boyfriend lived on he unintentionally slowed down. He wouldn't deny that he was nervous. Anybody would be in this situation! He was seeing the guy who left him alone with a child to raise by himself in person for the first since he left!
"I can do this." Remy repeated one last time before walking up to the front porch. He raised a fist and knocked on the door a lot weaker than he meant to. He tried again, this time banging quite hard on the door. "Shit.."
A few moments passed where nothing happened. Remy thought maybe he should knock again when he heard footsteps. He caught his breath and watched as the door opened, revealing his ex standing right in front of his eyes.
"Remy?!"
"Hi, Roman." Remy said, trying to keep the bitterness from his voice.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Roman hissed, shutting the door slightly. "I told you, we're done."
"Don't flatter yourself, this has nothing to do with us. I need your family medical history."
"What?"
"I need. Your family. Medical. History."
"Why?" Roman asked. "Is something wrong with you?"
"No.."
"Then why do you need my families medical records?"
"Will you just shut up and give me what I need?" Remy snapped. He didn't want to involve Kai in this conversation in any way unless he absolutely had to.
"I don't owe you anything." Roman said coldly, shutting the door even more. "Now I'd appreciate it if you got the hell off my porch."
Remy stuck his foot in the doorway to keep it from closing.
"Look, I haven't bothered you for the last three years. I haven't even held you accountable for child support. Just give me what I'm asking for and I'll disappear again."
"No fucking way." Roman sneered, trying to close the door. Although Remy's foot was in pain from keeping the door open he wasn't about to give up yet.
"Why not?"
"I'm not giving you anything until you tell me what it's for."
"You should be glad I don't ask for more! This isn't even that big of a deal."
"Get your foot out of my damn door!"
They struggled over the door for a bit until Remy felt like his foot was going to shatter.
"It's Kai!" He shouted, squeezing his eyes shut tight. "It's Kai.."
"What about Kai?" Roman asked.
Remy was a little thrown off by that. He didn't expect Roman to be concerned about Kai in the slightest. He wasn't sure what to make of it. Could it be just an act? He couldn't tell. Remy made the decision to take himself out of the current situation. He pulled his foot out of the door causing the door to slam shut.
"Forget it." He grumbled turning his back on Roman. He started to walk away. Roman quickly fumbled to open the door and hurried after Remy.
"Wait! What's wrong with Kai?"
"Don't bother pretending to care. I'm leaving. You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" Remy scowled, wiping his teary eyes with his sleeve.
"Remy, hold up for just a second! What's the matter with Kai?"
"Forget it! I don't need your help anyway.."
"What's wrong with my baby?" Roman asked, grabbing Remy by the arm. Remy wasted no time in whirling around and yanking his arm free.
"Your' baby?'" Remy repeated. "Nu-uh. You don't get to call them that."
"Kai is mine just as much as they are yours!"
"You haven't done shit for them!"
"I didn't do anything for them?!" Roman shouted back. "I didn't see you carrying a fucking baby for nine months. You didn't go through all the pain and the stress and the dysphoria!"
"I never forced you to do anything regarding your body. I gave you a choice, and you chose to keep them. You can't blame me for your decision."
"Would you rather I chose not to keep them?"
"Of course not! That child is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I wouldn't trade them for anything. But you gave up on them! You gave up on me. For what? Your stupid music! You chose music over you own fucking child! Because of you I've had to work my ass off every day just to keep them happy, and it's still not enough!"
The two of them traded insults and argued loudly in the front yard until they just couldn't anymore. Remy wiped his eyes again staring at the ground.
"Just give me what I need.." He said exhausted. To his surprise, Roman nodded.
"Fine.. on one condition."
"And what's that?"
"I get to see Kai." Roman said. Remy looked at him in disbelief and shook his head.
"Not a chance, Princey." He scoffed.
"Then I'm not giving you the records."
"Fine."
-------
Emile smiled as he felt Kai slump against him. They had just finished another episode of Avatar after eating lunch and putting on Kai's cream for the biopsy site. Kai had been yawning for a bit so Emile guessed they were probably getting tired. It was around three in the afternoon, so he figured it was an okay time for a nap.
He cradled Kai in his arms, not wanting to let go of them just yet. Leaning slowly back and forth he rocked them into a deeper sleep. Kai's little fists held onto Emile's shirt tightly as if he would disappear if they let go. Emile didn't mind of course. He massaged Kai's back with the arm supporting them and ran his free hand through their multicolored hair.
They were precious.
The two of them stayed like that for a while before Emile heard footsteps coming towards them from the hall. Sure enough, Remy jammed his keys into the keyhole a few seconds later. He threw the door open, startling a sleeping Kai for just a moment.
"Are they asleep?" Remy asked quietly after throwing his bag and jacket onto the blanket in the corner.
"Yep." Emile nodded smiling at the tiny child in his arms. "We've just been hanging out for a bit. They fell asleep not too long ago."
"Great."
"How'd things go with you?"
"Not so great." Remy sighed defeatedly and flopped down on the bed next to them. "He refused to give me the records unless I let him see Kai."
"And..?"
"I told him no way in hell is he getting to visit my baby that he abandoned."
"Wow.. how'd he take that?"
"Surprisingly well. He just gave up and went back inside his house."
"That's good at least." Emile nodded, brushing Kai's bangs out of their face. "I'm sure Kati will be able to figure out what's going on without his family's information."
"I sure hope so."
Emile offered him a reassuring smile. Remy did his best to return it. He rolled over to face Kai and rubbed their arm. All he wanted was for them to be okay. Was that too much to ask? Apparently it was. While Remy indulged in those thoughts, his smile fell and was replaced by a look of extreme worry. Emile picked up on it instantly and moved his hand from Kai's hair to Remy's.
"It'll be alright. Kai's going to be a-okay, and so will you."
"Thanks, Em." Remy hummed.
"Don't mention it."
"No, really. Thank you. For.. everything."
"You're welcome." Emile smiled. Remy took a look at the sweet guy next to him cradling his little kiddo. It was such a reassuring visual for him. This was what he had wanted with Roman. He had wanted a small family with a nice guy who genuinely cared about both him and Kai. And Emile fit that profile perfectly.
"So when were you thinking about having lunch?" Remy asked.
"I don't really have a day in mind or anything. Just a little after we-.. I mean, you can be sure that Kai is alright."
"Sounds good to me."
Remy and Emile chatted simply relaxing for a while. Emile explained how he had shown Kai the tv show that their action figures were from. Remy was glad that Kai and Em had bonded a bit more while he was away. He went into a little detail about the conversation he had with his ex, but didn't linger on the subject. Which Emile was completely fine with.
Once it got to be a little later in the day Emile went back home. On the ride home, he couldn't stop thinking about everything he'd seen during the day. He knew that Remy wasn't very well off financially, but he had no idea just how bad their living situation was. A small one-room apartment in a sketchy part of town. It made Emile feel pretty guilty.
He knew Remy would never accept any large financial help, but he still wanted to do something to help. After a brainstorm session while he walked home he got a pretty good idea of what he could do.