Family Spirit

Here is the latest chapter. This story is copywrited Ataq Katt 2003 ©. It may not be displayed on any site other than the Nifty archive with out permission of the author.

Family Spirit 2:

Remy had always been an early riser even as a child. He blinked into the morning sunlight, disoriented, and tried to remember where he was. He lifted his head and realized that there was someone in bed with him and at first he thought he was at Tim's in the south end of Salt Lake. The problem was Tim had short buzzed dark hair, and the hair he was looking at was long and sort of dark blond. He jerked back, stunned. It was Talin! Oh God, he thought, I was sleep walking again! Talin moved slightly as Remy slid his arm from around Talin's chest. His face burned with embarrassment and shame. He carefully climbed out of the bed and let himself out, pulling the door shut behind him.

"Shit!" He hissed, squeezing his eyes shut. "God damn it!" He rubbed his face and stared at Talin's door. Had Talin been aware that he'd gotten in bed with him? Did he say anything? Did Talin know he was gay? He went into his room and closed the door and slid down against it, pulling his knees up. "Please, God. Not now, okay?" He whispered. "I don't want to hurt anyone else." Tears streamed down his face.

He was positive that his revelation to his mother that he was gay had caused her to commit suicide, he knew it. I had only been a month since he'd told her, and the last month had been the worst that he could remember.

Anne quit taking meals with them, stopped interacting with them at all, and Remy knew it was his fault. Essentially, in his mind, he'd murdered his mother.

He lost track of how long he'd been sitting on the floor. He finally pulled himself up and went looking for clothes to shower. When he looked in his suitcase it was empty and he looked up surprised. He didn't remember putting his clothes away. Curiously he went to the walk in closet and turned on the light. Most of his clothes hung neatly on hangers, and the socks and underwear were neatly put away on a set of shelves in the corner. He scratched his head and sighed. "Now I unpack in my sleep. Great." He grabbed some boxers and headed for the bathroom.

Talin woke up a lot earlier than he liked too. He blinked at the offending sunlight and pulled the pillow over his head. As soon as he'd settled and nearly closed his eyes it hit him. He was alone in the bed. He pushed the pillow back and looked at the side where Remy had been and for the briefest second was sorry that he wasn't still there. On the other hand, he hoped that Remy had some memory of what happened so he wouldn't freak out.

He sighed deeply and shoved the sheets off, awake now. He stumbled into the closet and grabbed some briefs and ran his hand through his hair on the way to the bathroom. He stopped at the door, looked out the window at the sun, and changed his mind, heading back for a speedo. It was a good day to read, especially after last night. Something out of the huge library downstairs, something having nothing to do with ghosts.

He showered and dressed, pulling on a pair of baggy cargo shorts over the speedo and a large tank top, and made his way to the door, hoping that Mrs. Parsons was available for some breakfast. He closed his door and stopped, looking at Remy's door, and let his hand fall away from the door knob.

Remy had obviously been trying to deal with his mom's death last night, and Talin had almost forgotten about the whatever it was that appeared. Almost.

He took a step towards Remy's door, not knowing if it would be welcome to see how he was doing, or if it would embarrass him. He had almost steeled himself to knock when the door opened. He nearly rapped Remy in the face. "Oh!" He jerked his hand away.

Remy flinched and then grinned. "Damn, man. Don't be violent." He pulled the door shut behind himself.

"I was just checking if you were okay." Talin said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "When I woke up you were gone. I just wanted to make sure."

"Yeah." Remy blushed deep red. "About that, Talin. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to go sleep walking and climb in your bed. It happens sometimes when I'm stressed out." He couldn't bring himself to meet Talin's eyes. "I hope it didn't freak you out."

Talin walked beside him towards the stairs. "It was cool, don't worry. I heard you out in the hall so I got up." He glanced at Remy. "How much do you remember? Anything?"

Remy shook his head uncomfortably. "Dude, all I remember is, um, waking up in your bed. I don't know how I got there."

Talin sighed through his nose, deciding that for the moment Remy didn't need the details about the ghost. "You were talking to your mother." Talin said gently. He stopped and waited for Remy to look at him. "I mean it Remy, I don't mind. I can't imagine the shit you're going through. Any way I can help tell me, okay?"

Remy swallowed hard, fighting the tears that were suddenly in his eyes. For all of the years that it had been since he last saw Talin he realized that he still felt very close to him, like when they'd lived in the same city and played together. He nodded, smiling, but didn't trust himself to speak. He fought the urge to wrap his arms around Talin and give him a bear hug. "thanks." He said quietly.

Talin smiled and put his hand on Remy's shoulder and followed him towards the stairs.

Daniel Glenn stood in the baggage claim area at the airport and watched his partner Matt drag the last of their bags off the wheel. He was tall like his father had been and handsome, almost too much so. His brown hair was cut short in back and left longer on the top, and his ice blue eyes usually were full of humor. He was deeply tanned and muscular from working out and a love of racquet ball, and at 29 he looked much younger, about 24. He lived in New York where he did set design on and off Broadway. He'd come home for his sister Anne's funeral for the first time in four years. He took the last bag and set it on the rented cart and looked towards the car rental desks. "Which one did you make the reservation with?"

"Budget." Matt Jensen pointed towards the counter and followed Danny towards it. Matt stood almost an inch taller than Danny and was about 25 lbs heavier, although he carried it in muscle. His dark hair was cut short and gelled forward, and his size and build intimidated a lot of people which he found amusing. Matt worked as an electrician and lighting tech for the same theaters that Danny did sets for. He guided the cart through the crush of people. "I made it in your name."

After a shuttle ride to the cars they were dropped off to pick up the four door Matt had chosen. They loaded their bags and were out of the lot in less than 20 minutes. "This city never changes." Danny offered, looking out the window as the center of town came towards them. "At least the pollution is improving."

"It's still home, though." Matt said. "Even when I haven't been to San Francisco for a few years its still home. Don't you feel like that about Denver?" He turned on the radio and tuned it to the classic rock station.

"Yeah, I just hate coming here. Denver isn't the problem." Danny sighed. Matt took his hand and he smiled slightly. "Thanks, you big mush."

"That's what I'm here for." Matt grinned at him.

"I thought it was to provide heat at night and keep the litter box cleaned." Danny chuckled. Matt had two cats at their apartment that had to be taken to a boarding house.

"That too." Matt leaned back and slipped the flip flops off his feet and then stuck his feet out the window. "I hate to say it but this is shit loads nicer than New York." He pulled his sunglasses down off the top of his head and situated them. "There's hardly any traffic."

"It's one in the afternoon, freak." Danny laughed. "Even in NYC there's a break at one pm."

"I never noticed it." Matt closed his eyes. After several minutes he turned to look at Danny. "So if the funeral is in Salt Lake why didn't we just fly in there first?"

"I'm not going to the funeral." Danny said more sharply than he meant to. "I just came to see mother. I can't handle Michael right now." He brought his fingers to his mouth to bite his nails out of reflex and Matt caught his wrist, pulling it back down. Danny's face went red. "Sorry."

"It wasn't my fingers." Matt reached up and touched the underside of Danny's chin. "You know I came with you because I love you, right?"

"Yeah, I do." Danny kissed his palm. "It means a lot to me."

Matt nodded and closed his eyes again. "You don't have to stay. We can leave whenever you want to."

"I know."

Talin looked up from the book he'd found in the library and watched as Reba and Remy brought a pitcher of iced tea and glasses out to one of the poolside tables. He set the book aside and stretched his arms up over his head, enjoying the fact that he had absolutely nothing better to do.

"Is the water warm?" Remy asked, pulling his t-shirt off and tossing it over the back of a chair. He adjusted the waist of his board shorts and dipped his toe in the water.

"It had better be." Reba poured a glass of tea and handed it to Talin. "Then man that cares for it charges enough. It had better be perfect." She poured two more glasses and sat down in a chair that was in the shade.

"Easy, Reba." Talin chuckled. "I've been in it twice today and it's just right." He stood up and used his thumbs to adjust the elastic legs of his speedo. "You never get in the pool anyway, do you? Why did you have it put in?"

"Because my grandsons love it. Why do you think?" She said indignantly.

"I don't know, it's kinda chilly." Remy said, swishing his foot back and forth.

"Oh for Christ sake." Talin chuckled and coiled up, launching himself into the air and body blocking Remy into the water. They made a titanic splash and Talin arced away from his cousin, pushing off the bottom and gliding up to wrap his arms around Remy's neck. "Ya big wuss!" He giggled and pushed Remy under again.

"You little shit!" Remy sputtered and moved towards Talin with death in his eyes. "I told you it was cold!"

Talin dived and went under him, grabbing his ankle and pulling him under again. He was just about to congratulate himself for being clever when Remy's strong arm locked like a vice around his waist. "Oh shit!" He squeaked and whipped his head around to see an evil grin on Remy's face. "Remy, wait!"

"Bullshit." Remy laughed and lifted Talin completely out of the water, almost lazily tossing him to the far end of the pool. Talin's shout was cut off abruptly as he went into the water, splashing clear up onto the deck. When Talin came back up coughing Remy was already looming over him. "How d'you like me now, snot face?"

"I give!" Talin shouted holding his arms up in surrender. "Oh please!" He brought them down fast when he saw what Remy planned to do. Talin was among other things insanely ticklish. "Remy, no!"

"Gotcha!" Remy shouted and grabbed Talin's sides. He wasn't quite prepared for the thrashing animal that he got a hold of, though, and had to work to keep his fingers in place. "Still think you're funny, smart ass?"

"Oh, God! Remy, please!" Talin giggled and convulsed, trying to thrash away but it wasn't happening. Remy was way to fast and way too strong. "Please, I give up!" Talin shouted, rolling up onto the cement deck and way from his cousin. "No more!"

"That's right, buddy." Remy grinned from the side of the pool. "Now we know who's better, don't we?" He pushed out of the water in one easy motion, panting, and went to the table for a drink.

Reba smiled up at him and shook her head. "That certainly brought back memories." She looked over at Talin as he wrapped a towel around his waist and came towards them. "You know it nearly broke my heart when your parents moved you away. You two were always so close."

Remy put his arm around Talin's shoulders and took several large swallows of tea before setting the glass down. "It's like we were never apart, though, Reba. It's cool."

"Big jerk." Talin groused, picking up his own glass. It felt really good to have fun again. He hadn't realized how long it had been since he just enjoyed himself. Without really thinking about it he put his arm around Remy's waist.

"Little putz." Remy said, digging one finger into Talin's side. Talin jumped and glared at him. "Who's yo daddy?" He grinned, pointing his fingers at Talin like pistols and then blowing on them.

"God, you are such a ham." Talin rolled his eyes.

"I'd have to agree with that." Daniel said, walking up behind his mother with Matt behind him. "You're both pretty lame." He grinned at them and pushed his sunglasses up on top of his head.

"Uncle Danny!" Remy shouted and ran into his arms. "God it's great to see you!"

"Daniel?" Reba stood up and put her hands to her face. "Oh, it is you!"

Danny disengaged himself from Remy and looked down at the wet spots on his dark shirt shaking his head. "Who knew that was coming?" He shook his hands to get the water off and kissed Reba's cheek. "Hello, mother. Surprise."

"I am so glad you came, dear." She hugged him around the waist and kissed him again, and then realized that Matt was standing behind him. "Oh, Matt! You look wonderful!" She went to him and kissed his cheek. "I'm so glad you came with Daniel."

Talin took all of this in silently. He remembered Daniel quiet well, including his last visit to Talin's home in San Diego. Daniel had explained to Talin's father that he was gay, and Michael had gone into a rage, shouting and screaming, and finally kicking Danny out of the house. It had terrified Talin. He'd never once discussed sex with either of his parents after that. It was an odd mixture of emotions that boiled to the surface as he watched the reunion.

"Hey, Talin." Danny smiled, trying to judge how the kid would react. Talin's face was unreadable, and he hoped that it wasn't going to be a scene. He hadn't known Talin was here.

Talin found himself remembering all of the good times they'd had with Uncle Danny, like playing hide and go seek, swimming, tennis, and trips to the mall. For a moment his face contorted in anger when he realized what his dad had deprived him of. He forced that feeling away and stepped over to look up into Danny's eyes. "Long time, stranger." He said quietly. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his uncle's waist.

"Damn, it's good to see you too, Talin." Danny was surprised to find himself almost in tears. "I hoped you hadn't forgotten me."

"No way." Talin looked at Matt and smiled. "Sorry, I haven't seen him for awhile."

"No problem." Matt grinned and shook each of their hands. "I'm Matt Jensen."

"This is the first time I've had Matt to my home." Reba smiled and led the small gang towards the house. "We've talked a lot on the phone, and I stayed in New York with them once, but we never could get him here." She slipped her arm around Matt's waist. "Tell me, did you ever find the cause of the lights going out in that little theater? The one that was doing the Simon play?

He laughed, throwing his head back. "I forgot I'd mentioned that. It was a mouse. It chewed through the wires back stage." He held the door for everyone. "We all thought it was a ghost. Even the audience."

Talin jolted at the mention of a ghost, his face becoming more serious. As they walked towards the foyer to get Danny and Matt's bags he glanced up at the top of the stairs and felt a small knot in his stomach. He looked back towards the door and saw that Danny and Remy had stopped just outside the French doors. As he watched Danny took Remy in his arms, and Remy was obviously crying very hard. Wish that was me holding him, he thought to himself.

Whoa! Where the hell did that come from? Talin put his hand to his forehead and his eyes went wide. A funny creeping sensation crawled up his back and he looked away from the doors quickly, his face burning. Matt and Reba had gone to the front of the house and Talin hurried up the stairs to his room and closed the door, panting.

"Get a grip." He mumbled to himself and sat on the edge of the bed. In his mind he could clearly see Remy and Danny through the doors embracing, and his mind pulled a dirty trick and placed him in Remy's arms instead of Danny. "Jesus Christ!" He whispered and flopped back on the bed, jamming the heals of his hands into his eyes.

When Talin had been a freshman he'd met a girl named Cassie Bentley. They'd become friends sitting at the back of the classroom in the biology lab. She'd asked him to the Valentine's Day Ball, and he'd accepted immediately, thrilled and excited to be with her. During a slow dance he'd kiss her. She had responded right away, sliding her tongue between his lips. At that moment, in front of several hundred students, Talin had learned what he didn't want. His mind had closed up entirely, and no thoughts about sex or relationships were tolerated. He just didn't think about it.

Now he looked up at the pattern of the paper on the ceiling of Reba's house and felt a cold stone of guilt grow in his stomach. He covered his face with his arm and tried to force away the image in his mind. He knew what they would call him, he knew that what he'd imagined was incest and gay. He strangled a groan and swiped at the tears that had begun to run down his cheeks.

"Remy, you know as well as I do that Anne didn't kill herself because you said you were gay." Danny said directly, walking through the garden with his nephew. "Anne was sick, Remy. She was severely depressed. It wasn't the first time either." He put his arm around the kid's shoulders. "Enough of that, okay?"

Remy nodded and used his thumb to wipe the tears out of his eyes. "I know what you're saying and your right. I just can't make it fit, you know?"

"You will." Danny stopped and leaned his back against a tree and put his hands in his pockets. "You're mom was a great person. She just couldn't help being sick, kid. You can't blame yourself for stuff you can't control." He was quiet for a few moments and a small smile came to his face. "So, have you had a relationship yet? Have you been in love?"

Remy's face reddened and he shook his head. "I was seeing a guy named Tim but there wasn't any chemistry. We, you know, had sex, but there wasn't anything there." He sat down on the grass and put his arms around his knees. "I haven't looked very hard. It was hard enough just living at home the last few months."

Danny nodded. "It'll happen. Maybe you could come and live here with Reba for awhile. Give yourself a break, you know? You can go to school here just as easily as in Utah."

"That's a cool idea." Remy smiled. "I'll ask Reba. I'd like that."

"You know what she'll say." Danny snorted a laugh. "She'd be ecstatic to have one of her boys here. In fact Talin ought to ask Michael about it. It'd do him good to get away from Godzilla."

"That would be awesome. I didn't realize how much I missed him." Remy leaned back on his hands. "It was like we were still always friends."

Danny tilted his head to the side and chose his words carefully. "Remy, keep your eyes open. I think you'll find out that Talin is one of us."

"What d'you mean?"

Danny moved his feet and crossed his arms, trying to put it politely. "When I told your Uncle Michael about me and Matt he went ape shit. He screamed and called me every dirty name you can think of." He looked up and met Remy's eyes. "Talin had asked me a lot of questions about Matt and I. I think that he may be like us but because of his dad's rage he's locked it up, does that make sense?" Remy sighed and nodded, looking away. "What is it?"

"I was thinking that he's nice looking." Remy blushed even deeper red. "That's pretty fucked up, isn't it? To be gay and to think your cousin is hot? Incest, too?" He lowered his head, ashamed.

"Yeah, well, it's a weird world, isn't it?" Danny chuckled. "Come on." He held out his hand and pulled Remy up. "Just don't do anything stupid and hurt him."

"I wouldn't." Remy said sullenly. "He's the last guy on earth I'd chase anyway." He followed Danny back towards the house.

"Good." Danny smiled and hugged Remy's shoulders.

Talin didn't go down for dinner. He told Reba that he thought he'd gotten to much sun and was going to turn in early. Remy glanced at the open place at the table and decided he didn't have much appetite either. He excused himself and took two Mt. Dews out of the fridge, heading up to the third floor on the back stairs.

"I don't think he'll go with you." Danny said, not making eye contact with his mother. "There's a lot of scars there, mother. I don't think you should try to make him go."

"Daniel, we're going to bury his mother!" Reba was stunned. "He'll never see her again! I think this is one time where I shouldn't give in."

"Mom, he saw Anne dead, and he watched the medics put her in a bag and take her out of the house." Danny said as gently as he could. "I think it would be very hard on him to see her again." He put his napkin on the table. "I can't even imagine how I'd feel if I'd seen you like that."

Reba sighed and nodded. "I don't want to go alone. It will be hard for me too."

Danny stood up and went to her side and knelt down. "I know that, mother. Matt is staying here with the boys. I'm going with you." He tried to smile but knew his eyes were watering up. The very last place he wanted to be was in the same room as his brother, but he also realized that his place was at Reba's side. He swallowed his fear and feelings.

"But what about Michael?" She asked, taking his hand.

"It doesn't matter. My mother needs me." He said simply. It felt so good to hold her and let her cry.

Talin looked up from his book when there was a knock at the door. "Come in."

Remy stepped into the room and held up one of the cans of soda. "I thought you might like a drink."

"Cool, thanks." Talin took it and waved at a chair near the bed. "So how was dinner?"

"Pork roast. You didn't miss much." Remy chuckled. Talin sat in the middle of the bed with his legs folded and still wore his swimming suit. Remy chuckled and took a sip of his soda. "You don't look that sunburned to me, man. What's up with that?"

Talin looked down at his hands. "I guess I just needed to be alone for awhile."

Remy started to stand up. "Hey, if I'm interrupting..."

"No!" Talin held out his hand. "Sit down. I didn't mean to make you leave." Remy sat back in his chair. "Remy, can I ask you something?" Remy nodded. Talin tried to put the question together but couldn't make it work.

"Look, last night when you got in this bed it was like you slept better, right?" Remy's face reddened but he nodded. "Well, I never slept in the same bed with anybody. I was just wondering if you had before."

"Well, yeah, I have." Remy's face went red. He looked down at his hands uncomfortably and put the words together in his mind carefully. "See, I was trying to think up a way to tell you this." He wiped his hands on his pant legs and sighed. "Look, I hope it doesn't screw things up with us, Talin, but I'm gay. I slept with another guy."

Talin was silent for several seconds, running his index finger around the rim of his pop can. "What was it like?" He asked quietly, not looking up at first and then finally meeting Remy's eyes.

"Uh, it was good." Remy was caught of guard. Of all the reactions his mind had come up with he hadn't expected this one. "I was seeing a guy named Tim but it wasn't going very good."

Talin nodded and took a sip from the can. "I'm sorry. That was a stupid question." He set the can on the bedside table. "I've never done anything like that."

"You mean you're...?"

Talin nodded again. "A virgin, yeah." He swallowed hard, still looking at his hands. "I kissed a girl once but it was nasty, like sucking on a leach." His face bunched up in revulsion. "I just don't think about it."

"Well what do you think about when you get turned on?" Remy asked, fascinated. "Do you think of a girl like Brittany Spears, or someone from your school?"

"I don't think about it at all." Talin said a little defensively. Not until today that is.

"Well have you ever, you know, jacked off?" Remy was stunned. Talin looked at him through his bangs and shook his head slightly. Remy leaned back in the chair, amazed. "Dude, I would've exploded by now." He stood up and went towards the door rubbing his forehead. "No wonder you were curious."

"Don't tell anyone, okay?" Talin asked quietly.

"No, man, never." Remy stopped at the door and looked back at him. "Man, that's like worse than a prison sentence." Talin shrugged. "See you in the morning." He pulled the door open and shook his head again. "Holy shit." He pulled the door closed and looked back at it, blown away. He sighed and walked across to his room.

Talin stripped off the speedo and climbed into bed, wishing he hadn't said anything. He felt like an idiot, but it was cool that Remy hadn't made fun of him. He stretched out and yawned, feeling the loss of sleep from the night before. It didn't take as much time for his brain to shut down as he expected.

This time the dream was so real that he could smell and taste the surroundings. He stood on the deck surrounding the pool in Reba's garden. As he looked back towards the house he could see Remy coming towards him in slow motion, the sun hitting him from behind and glinting off his curly hair. He was wearing one of Talin's speedos, which made it very erotic, and Talin stood and waited for him to get there.

"You didn't run this time." Remy said quietly. He smiled and took Talin in his arms.

"I didn't want to before." Talin answered, grinning. "I couldn't help it." Remy pulled him closer and bent to kiss him. Talin tilted his head up and closed his eyes, ready for the magic to manifest between them...

And sat straight up in bed at the sound of a muffled thump, panting and out of breath. His heart was racing and the image was still clear in his mind. He jerked his head towards the door. The sound had come from the hall. Images of the ghost from the night before slipped into his mind. He slid to the edge of the bed and noticed for the first time when he pulled the covers back that he had a raging hard on. Shame drizzled up from his chest and into his mind as he pulled on his swimming suit to go see what had fallen. The hard on retreated rapidly.

He opened the door slowly, peering out into the hall. It was dark but not entirely. He slipped out of the door and glanced over at Remy's room. The door was open about three inches, and he crept silently over and peeked inside. The bed was messed up but empty. Just as he was backing out of the doorway he noticed the sickly green light beginning to shine one the woodwork next to him. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard, knowing what was coming and fighting the urge to turn and look.

He had to. Talin turned his head to look over his shoulder and felt the hairs on his arms and legs rise. His heart pounded in his chest as he looked into those soulless black sockets. The ghost appeared in the same place in the hallway, sharply defined from the waist up and the outline of legs reaching down to the floor. The temperature dropped, and Talin felt goose flesh pop out on his body as his short shallow breathes puffed in front of his face.

The apparition seemed to be studying him, and then it looked down. Talin glanced at where its attention was and felt his heart miss a beat. Remy was laying on the floor, crumpled as if he'd be knocked unconscious. His body was bathed in the swampy green blue mists of the spirit.

All at once any fear Talin had drained out of his body and was instantly replaced with anger. "What did you do to him?" He demanded, his fist balling up. He went to Remy and dropped to one knee. "Remy?" He shook his shoulders hard. The spirit seemed to drift back a few feet in the hall, and for a moment its face seemed to change when Talin looked up. For a moment it's eyes were more distinct and visible in those black sockets, and for a moment it looked angry. Its fingers arched into claws and it suddenly moved like wind, washing passed Talin and knocking him down before disappearing with an almost audible pop.

Talin's breaths were ragged as he picked him self up off the floor. He went to Remy and rolled him onto his back. "Remy, wake up!" He hissed urgently. Remy's eyes fluttered open and he became aware of Talin kneeling over him. "Oh, God!" Talin sobbed and wrapped his arms around his cousin. "I thought you were dead!"

"Did I sleep walk?" Remy asked, embarrassed, and put his arms around Talin. "What happened?"

"You scared the shit out of me!" Talin sniffed and then what happened next shocked them both. Without really thinking about it Talin kissed him on the mouth. He had been so frightened when he saw Remy not moving on the floor that it had caused his emotions to overload. He couldn't have stopped himself if he wanted to.

Remy's eyes flew open but them he let himself relax. He pulled Talin closer and into his lap, doing what he'd known he wanted to do all along.

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