Logan rubbed at his eyes to remove the heavy feeling from his lids. He had only been asleep a few hours but his internal clock woke him, being the normal time for him to wake. He was going to ignore the time and go back to bed since the previous evening had been long. That was before he noticed Remy's shadowed form sitting at the edge of the couch clutching a single blanket for warmth and stroking his furry companion. It was odd for the younger man to be awake, it was way too early. "Hey, kid, ya alright?"
Remy glanced over his shoulder at Logan and gave him a weak smile. "Oui, Logan, I'm fine." he tried to reassure the older man that he in fact was alright, even though it was a lie. He never slept much, couldn't keep the nightmares away, or his paranoid mind calm enough to get any quality rest. He would normally wake to his night terrors and be unable to talk himself into sleeping again. Tonight was the same.
Remy glanced behind him again when he heard the creak of the old bed and the slow footsteps of Logan making his way across the dark room. He returned his sights to the jumping flames, assuming that the older man was going to the bathroom. He was startled when another blanket fell around his shoulders, put there by a very worried looking Logan. "Merci." Remy wrapped his cold fingers in the new fabric and pulled it close to his form, allowing the cat to get comfortable again in his lap.
"Nightmares?" Logan asked as he cornered the edge of the couch and took the opposite side in front of the fireplace. The younger man gave him a small nod but never turned his eyes to him, most likely in shame. He knew that feeling all too well. "I have them too sometimes" he confessed hoping the common ground would gain a little more trust between the two.
"How do y' stop them?" Remy asked shyly. He shifted his seat to face Logan, finally looking into his eyes in complete attention, hoping for an answer that could help him. He so badly wanted to rid himself of the memories that tortured him in his sleep. Maybe since the older man suffered the same he may have a trick to make the demons disappear permentantly. He himself had figured temporary ways of clearing his mind, but nothing that would last more then a night or two.
"I'm not sure kid, it's just something ya have to live with I guess. Do ya want to talk about it? That sometimes helps."
"Non, not really." Remy replied, curling tighter under the blankets. Last thing he wanted to do was revisit his past.
"Alright, I won't push ya, but if ya ever want to just yell." Logan stood and stretched letting his muscles pull and flex. He let out a ragged sigh as he relaxed. "I'm gonna get a few more hours of sleep, why don't ya try and do the same. Blue says ya need some rest so you can heal up."
Remy nodded and stretched out his long legs down the couch where Logan once sat. He was sure he would not be able to sleep long, but he would try for Logan. He waited until he heard the squeak of the bed behind him then closed his eyes in attempts to follow the older man into sleep, something that didn't come easily.
After almost an hour of tossing and turning Remy gave up. He found it impossible to keep visions of earlier nightmares at bay so he decided to use one of his unrevealed powers as a last hope. He took a deep breath and concentrated his mind towards the tabby cat that was curled up against his chest. He smiled when the connection he was looking for fell into place easily. He wasn't sure what the power was, but it was useful when he could get it to work. It was once called charm by the people who took care of him, it was never strong but he could still tap into people's feelings, or in this case the cat's. He never got much comfort from connecting to animals, but it at least kept him a little more aware of his surroundings even in sleep. It didn't stop the nightmares, but it did calm his paranoia.
The one problem he was having was the person lying behind him. With his mind open to connect with the cat, it gave him trace awareness of Logan across the room who had falling into deep restful sleep over an hour ago. The feelings of contentment and peacefulness that the older man was broadcasting were warm and intoxicating even if they only tickled the edge of his mind. Before he could catch himself he found his charm wandering to the source, moving the connection from the cat to Logan's mind unconsciously. Normally he never connected to people without their consent, it usually felt wrong, but Logan's mind felt perfect as he melted into it.
He bathed in the comforting feelings, deciding it would do no harm to stay for just a moment, the older man would never know, so he thought. He was suddenly hit with a rush of negative feelings ending with a sudden backlash, cutting off his link abruptly. His eyes closed tightly to the sharp pain the interruption caused. Once his mind cleared a gasp fled his lips realizing he had been caught somehow. He didn't even have time to look over the back of the couch before Logan was in front of him almost growling his demands for answers.
"What the hell was that? What were ya tryin' to do? Answer me!" the last came out in a yell causing tears to well up in the younger man's eyes.
Remy quickly sat up, backing himself into the corner of the couch, fearing what price his mistake would cost him. The cat jumping from the couch with a hiss didn't even break Logan's angry stare. Those cold blue eyes paralyzed him with fear. He put his hands up as a shield when he heard a muted snikt noise fill the quiet room, he knew it would not save him from the claws that had magical appeared from the angry man's hands. Not until another fierce growl of impatience escaped Logan's throat did he finally find his voice to beg for mercy. "Logan, I'm sorry, please. I didn't want to hurt y'. Please don't."
Logan could sense the fear rolling off the thin body curled on the couch, it was almost sickening. He could also smell the salt from the tears that were rolling down the sharp angles of the young man's face. The sight made his stomach turn and the beast within surprisingly backed down at the display. Normally the animal inside would strive for such a reaction from it's prey. It surprised him that the scene crumbled his anger, he didn't want to hurt the kid either, even after what had just happened. He didn't even let Jean, the woman he supposedly loved, into his head. What was going on? Why did this kid have this kind of effect on him? He needed answers to his questions and killing Remy was not going to do it.
His instincts told him to back off, and he always followed his gut feeling, so he did. He took a deep breath and pulled back his claws slowly so not to scare the kid anymore then he already had. With a sigh he took his previous seat on the opposite end of the couch and apologized "Sorry, kid, I didn't mean to get all pissed off. Just not good with people fuckin' with my head. Bad memories." He waited for Remy to uncurl and look at him before he continued. "I have to ask though, what were ya tryin' to do?"
Remy bit his lip in contemplation. Normally he would con his way out of these kinds of situations, but something told him not to lie to Logan, or maybe he just didn't want to, so he told the truth. "It helps me sleep. I was connected to Max, but I could feel y' and your mind was so warm. I thought maybe I could connect to you, just for a minute, and that would help me sleep. I didn't think y' would notice." He looked up into Logan's blue eyes and saw only confusion and question where he hoped he would find forgiveness and understanding. He had found a friend in Logan, and he hated to lose it, but it look as if he had messed up again. "Y' want me to leave, oui?" he questioned sadly.
"No, I want ya to stay." Logan answered honestly. He was surprised to hear Remy's explanation, it was not what he expected or anything he understood. "I'm a little confused. You weren't readin' my mind?"
"Non, I can't see what y' are thinkin' or anythin' like that. Mattie called it my charm. She gave me shield's so it wouldn't be so strong, but she didn't get to teach me how to use the power. I can only can only use it enough to link with people. If they are happy it feels warm, makes me happy keeps the nightmares away. Same if they are sad or angry." Remy stopped and sighed, realizing that he was not making much sense, he just didn't know how to explain it when he wasn't sure what it was himself. "You probably think I'm crazy, oui?"
Logan shook his head. "No kid, I think I understand what you're sayin'. I have shields too. That's how I knew you were in my head and how I pushed ya out. Everyone here has them as a defense. So if you try that on someone here they will know." He warned. "Maybe Jean or the Professor can teach you to use your powers, that charm may come in handy if you knew how to use it."
Remy smiled, happy he did not lose his friend and the older man was still willing to help him. "I'm sorry, I promise it won't happen again. Merci for not bein' mad at me."
Logan grinned back, glad to see the trust was still there. "It's alright, kid." He stood from the couch anxious to get a few more hours rest before going to his daily workout, it had been one hell of a night and it looked like the day was not going to be much better. He was sure that Cyke would want to know about these empathic powers the kid seemed to have. That was a conversation he was not looking forward to with Scott's issues of distrust towards the kid.
Looking over his shoulder on his way to the bed he noticed Remy was once again staring at the flames from the hearth from the corner of the couch. Realizing the kid was not going to attempt sleep without some defense against his nightmares he sighed and made up his mind. He was going to allow Remy to do something he never thought he would give anyone permission to do. "Go ahead and link with me, kid. We both could use the sleep after last night."
Remy's turned to Logan wide eyed, surprised at the offer. Logan almost killed him for connecting to him earlier, now he was giving him permission. He wanted so bad to feel those warm feelings once more, it had been so long since he had felt something so good, but it wasn't fair to Logan. The older man had already given him too much. "Non, I couldn't do that. Y' don't want me in your head. I'll be fine."
"Really, it's okay, link with me. I just didn't understand what you were tryin' to do. Might do me some good anyway. I'll chase your nightmares away and you chase away mine. Deal?" The younger man gave him a quick nod and closed his eyes tightly in concentration. Soon after Logan felt a slight nudge on his shields and allowed the connection, making sure to keep all his emotions calm and soothing for the young man. He was rewarded with a bright smile from Remy.
"Merci, Logan." Remy whispered as the warm feelings overtook his mind lulling him to sleep like a drug. His eyes closed as he stretched out once again on the long couch. He felt a blanket cover him and the cat curl up at his feet before his mind completely fell into slumber. This time it was beyond peaceful.