A/N- I tried, you guys. I really did try to get this chapter ready in a timely fashion. Unfortunately, the end of the year is always completely insane in my house, and it was just not in the cards.

The good news is that I had SO MUCH content for this chapter, that I actually ended up splitting into two chapters once I got closer to the end. Because it was crazy long. So on the plus side, I have now finished TWO chapters, and hopefully will be able to conclude this puppy in no time!

I hope you enjoy!

The following does not reflect the views or opinions of Marvel or the author known as 'Kinetically Charmed'.

Entry number twenty one:

Somehow, we were all able to get through pictures without murdering anyone, even though Mystique managed to weasel her way into a couple of them, and once pictures in the freezing cold were over, it was time to head over to the reception hall.

Where the "fun" could start.

We rolled up to the hall and got ourselves all situated for the whole wedding party intro thing, when it suddenly occurred to me that I had no idea if they'd even gotten someone to MC the damn thing. This is what happens when you find out your stupid ass is pregnant while trying to plan a wedding. Things fall through the damn cracks.

So of course, I had a momentary jolt of panic, and I turned to Rogue with wide eyes, "Who's your MC?"

She rolled her eyes in response, and at first I thought it was at my lack of faith in her planning ability until she shot Remy a look.

"I took care of it." Remy replied coolly, which totally tells me that this was a thing. This was a point of contention that I'd been completely unaware of. And judging by the way Pete let out a long sigh and muttered something under his breath in Russian, I was alone in my... unawareness.

And then I heard it. I heard his voice. That obnoxious, unmistakable voice, with his dumb Australian accent and the way he giggles at every moronic joke he makes...

"Uggggh..." I groaned and dropped my head back, "Pyro?! You asked Pyro to be your MC?! What the hell is wrong with you?! You had one job, Gambit! Pyro is the worst!"

Remy gave me a level look, "He's not the worst-"

"He is basically the worst."

"He was cheap!" He countered defensively.

"You paid him?!" I looked over to Rogue, who rolled her eyes at her new husband in irritation.

"Don't even get me started again."

I turned back to Remy and gave my head a sympathetic shake, "It's such a good thing you're so pretty... I swear to God."

And then as if to prove my point, we were then all forced to make our grand entrance to the band playing My Humps, because nothing says wedding like lovely lady lumps.

Check it out.

Once we were all seated and the applause had died down, Pyro raised his glass towards Rogue and Remy with a lopsided grin, "The bride and groom everyone, look at that. Who woulda thought we'd ever see the day?"

A murmur of agreement rippled throughout the reception along with some mild chuckles and Pyro gave his head a shake,

"I lived with this guy for a few years, and let me tell you, he is probably the last person I would ever expect to get married. And I mean the last. Not to mention her, not many people would wanna lock that down, am I right? I'm kiddin' of course, she's gorgeous obviously. Bit of a bitch, but hey, that works for some guys."

Some more uncomfortable chuckles and I cut my eyes to Rogue who was desperately trying to hold back from leaping over the round head table and just beating the crap out of him right there.

"In all seriousness though... this guy, was the master. I actually used to take notes, you know... kinda like a tally of all the women. Of course, I didn't know any of their names, although I'm not sure Gambit did either, ain't that right, mate?"

He winked at Remy who was by this point, definitely eating his words that Pyro wasn't the worst. "But I kept that tally, all these years-" He paused, setting his drink down on the podium and digging into his suit pocket to pull out a notepad with a wicked little grin on his lips, "- And I used it to compose a little song for you all, a little walk down memory lane, if you will..."

He cleared his throat and cued the band to start playing We Didn't Start The Fire.

"Short But Loud, Screams A Lot, Crazy Boobs, Smells Like Pot, Horsey Teeth, Chubby Legs, and Crazy Boobs again. Girl With Roots, Mr. Bean, Skinny Arms, Really Mean, Maxi Skirt, Mini Skirt and Crazy Boobs again.

Looks Like Cher, Curly Hair, even though she was a dare, Tina Fey, Blown Away, what else do I have to say!
Rogue didn't start the fire, it was always burning, cuz he's kind of a man slut. She might have locked that down, but I'm not sure how, cuz he's kind of a man slut"

"Okay, that's enough." I announced, hopping to my feet and gesturing to kill the music before anyone else had the opportunity to. I mean, realistically the song was amusing. I'm not gunna lie.

But Pyro saved my life once, sort of. So I'm returning the favour.

And now we're even.

"Oh hey look everyone!" Pyro beamed when his eyes fell on me, "It's short but loud!"

"That's not- nope. I'm not in that song." I clarified for the guests, feeling my cheeks burning, "He's lying."

"Ahhh I'm just teasin' ya Shiela." Pyro said before horrifyingly making his way over to the head table and coming to a stop next to me with that stupid microphone still up to his smirking mouth, "Kitty Pryde everyone. Apparently the maid of honour doesn't like my song. Even though I saw it in a movie, and I know it's hilarious."

I closed my eyes and let out a deep, calming breath, "Please stop."

"It certainly is nice to see you again, Kitty. You're lookin' awfully nice. Keepin' it tight." He winked.

"Please God, stop."

At this point, Rogue stood up with a deceptively calm smile, placing a hand over the microphone before hissing, "If you don't announce the meal and take a damn seat, I am gonna drain every last ounce of life out of you right here in front of everybody. I swear to God."

Pyro cleared his throat with an awkward little chuckle, looking completely spooked, and lifted the mic back up to his mouth, "Soups on!"

Rogue fluffed her veil before sitting back down and giving me a wordless nod as Pyro skulked away, muttering under his breath about "that crazy bitch".

The waiters brought out some drinks first, followed shortly by our meals, and the second that crawfish jambalaya was placed in front of me I felt instantly ill. Like, really, what the hell was I thinking, jambalaya?

And this is what morning sickness feels like.

I closed my eyes and tried to even my breath, and I'm pretty sure I turned green.

"Uh, Kitty? You alright?" Kurt asked from my left.

I forced down a swallow and nodded, "It looks like a bowl of vomit."

"Nice. Thanks." Remy commented sarcastically, with a spoonful of his own jambalaya halfway to his mouth.

"Oh, honey." Mercy sympathetically frowned at me from across the table, "She's got the mornin' sickness..."

Without another word, Pete reached over Kurt and swapped our meals, placing a plate of fried chicken and waffles in front of me.

Seriously, what the hell was I thinking with the jambalaya? There are freaking waffles.

"You shouldn't eat seafood when you're pregnant, anyway." Henri informed me helpfully, "It's incredibly high in mercury."

"Alright, I gotta ask it." Rogue blurted out, turning to look at me with a frown, "What the f***?"

I sighed and took a sip of water in an attempt to settle my tummy. "It was an accident."

"No shit, Sherlock!"

I shot her a frown, "I would really rather not talk about it."

"Oh hell no. Nope. You ain't gettin' out of it, Pyrde. I'm the bride, it's my wedding, you're leaving for England and I'm going on my honeymoon, and we won't have the chance to discuss this later. So for all those damn reasons, you're gunna talk." Rogue stated firmly, "First off, how the hell was Remy the first person to know!? How does that even make any sense?! I'm the best friend!"

I rolled my eyes and reluctantly gave into Rogue's bridal demands, "You were drunk. And Remy was there... and then he drove me to Walmart and stood outside the bathroom..." I trailed off and flipped a hand, "Trust me, he was purely in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Remy snorted at that with a mouthful of jambalaya, "Wrong place my ass. If I hadn't found out, nobody would f***in' know yet. She probably wouldn't even have told Pete. You're welcome."

"Mimi, please." Mercy admonished, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth, "I'm sure she would have told the father in her own time."

Piotr scoffed as he stuffed a spoonful of jambalaya into his mouth, and I stifled the urge to glare at him.

"Don't worry about it shug," Mercy continued, turning to look back at me, "It's always overwhelming at first but soon you'll realize what an amazing blessing the new life growing inside you is."

"Ugh, do you have to say it like that?" Rogue grimaced as she sucked back a mouthful of wine, "It makes me think of like... an alien or something. Like she's growing aliens."

"In her defense, she just watched Alien." Remy explained with his arm draped along the back of her chair.

"Whatever. New life... gestating or what-have-you, it definitely is a blessing. You wanted your sign to move back, boom. Sign." Rogue continued, taking another gulp of wine.

Before I had the chance to respond, Remy scoffed, "Yeah, right. She's worked hard for her career, she ain't just gunna up and quit because of some tit-sucker. Plus, she won't quit that job, they willingly gave her a gun."

Rogue twisted in her seat to balk at him, "You listening to yourself right now? You're the one who wanted her to move back, remember?"

"I'm a realist, Rogue." Remy stated after taking a nice long drink of his own alcoholic beverage. "Ain't no reason she can't keep her job and be a mom, she doesn't need to move back. She could easily strap that little alien to her in one of those... those things..." He gestured to his chest and his face twisted into frown, "Those stupid kangaroo things Mercy made Henri wear to carry the aliens around..."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, that would be great, just pop that bulletproof vest on over top of the baby and she's all set."

"I'm just sayin'. Her tits have the food, what more does she need? Toss that kid in a backpack and she's good to go."

I rubbed a hand over my face and gave my head a shake, "I mean, you sound like a complete moron, but you have a point." I sighed and rolled my eyes, "You're not making it, but you do have one. I don't need to move back, I can totally do this on my own."

"You won't need to be on your own if you move back." Rogue pointed out before turning back to Remy with an sarcastic little smirk, "What happened to the importance of family."

"Family schmamly. Do you really want that thing living 10 feet down the hall from you, wakin' up screaming at 2 AM?" He jabbed his fork at me, even though I'm assuming he was referring to the baby. Although I might scream, too. He turned back to his food and snorted, "London is great, Kitty. I'm sure it's a great place to raise a kid. It'll grow up with culture and have one of those cute British accents like the Harry Potter kids who mumble all the time. You'll love it."

"Why don't ya'll just leave her alone. This is a private matter between Kitty and Pete." Mercy reprimanded softly, and Piotr muttered something sarcastically in Russian, which earned him a nasty look from me.

Because I'm pretty sure I could guess what he was muttering.

"I'm still confused as to how this even happened." Kurt blurted out, because apparently he'd been quiet too long and felt the need to put in his two cents.

Remy's head dipped to the side sympathetically, "Well, see Kurt, when a mommy and daddy really love each other-"

"That's not what I meant." Kurt interrupted before Remy could get into the graphic details, thankfully, "What I meant was, how could you two be so stupid?!"

I turned to frown at Kurt, "It's not stupid, these things happen, Kurt. Get off your high horse for five seconds, would you?!" I snapped defensively.

"It is stupid. Your relationship was barely even a relationship, and now you're stuck together for the next 18 years." He shook his head and turned back to his chicken, adding with a sarcastic sniff, "I assume you're getting married now too, so congratulations."

"Nobody is getting married, okay?" I clarified.

"Of course not, she does not even want to stay in the same country as me." Piotr added with a wry little chuckle, which gained him yet another glare from me.

As if suddenly remembering that Piotr was actually there, Henri turned to him with a smile and cleared his throat, "And how is daddy feeling about all of this?"

"Oh I know how daddy feels. Daddy's gone into planning mode and mentally bought us a house and an effing minivan. Daddy thinks that this is just some problem that can just be... solved. By expecting mommy to just uproot and rearrange her entire life, and I just realized that called myself mommy and it is too soon for that!"

"That is not what I did." Piotr protested with a frown and I turned to him with wide eyes,

"That's exactly what you did! You made the unilateral decision that I was going to quit my career and move back, as if it didn't even occur to you that I might not want to move back!"

"Then I will move to London! That is not even the issue, Kitty! The issue is that you were the one who wanted this relationship, and the second things get rough, you flip out in a blind panic and refuse to be rational!" He snapped back at me before closing his eyes and letting out a soothing breath, "No. I'm sorry. We are not doing this now, we are here to celebrate Rogue and Remy's wedding."

"Don't let us hold you back." Remy commented, taking a nice big gulp of wine.

"You know how we enjoy other peoples drama." Rogue added in agreement.

"I am allowed to panic! This is the perfect time to panic, alright?! Everyone should be panicked!" I hissed over Kurt, who I suddenly noticed was looking incredibly uncomfortable being caught in the middle of this argument, "This is big business, Piotr. This is way too real, way too fast. I needed baby steps. And now suddenly I'm forced to choose between career and love, and now there's an effing baby, and I just can't- I just can't! But you're not panicked at all, lord no, you're the problem solver!"

"I never thought that having a baby with you would be considered a problem." Piotr replied evenly as he turned back to his jambalaya, signifying that the discussion was over before adding, "And the only one making you choose anything, is you."

I clamped my mouth shut, feeling a wave of guilt slam into me. So thanks a lot for that, Pete.

Kurt lifted his water to his mouth, taking a long, awkward drink as he glanced between the two of us. I turned back towards my plate and frowned.

"I don't think I'm very hungry after all." I muttered, pushing myself back from the table.

"Oh, you shouldn't skip meals." Henri piped up, "That is literally the worst thing a pregnant woman can do-"

Mercy interrupted him with some French reprimand and a sharp look, and he clamped his mouth shut quickly.

"I think I'm just going to go to the bar and watch other people get drunk, longingly." I explained, before swiftly making my retreat to the bar. I mean, if I can't consume the stuff, at least I can watch other people getting wasted.

Or, it was just a really good excuse to leave.

I plopped myself down on one of the vacant stools, and pressed my lips into a strained smile when the bartender came to a stop in front of me.

"What can I get you?" He asked politely, planting his palms down on the counter expectantly.

"Right. Drink. Umm... about that..." I glanced quickly at the bottles lining the glassy lit up shelves behind him and cleared my throat, "Could I get... uh... something that looks like a drink?"

The bartender's lip quirked up and he tipped his head to the side, "Like... a drink?"

"Looks like an alcoholic drink." I clarified, finding myself losing my patience with this poor innocent man. I let out a breath and tried again, "I'm pregnant." I whispered with a cursory glance around to make sure no one heard. "But it's not public knowledge yet, and I-"

"Say no more." He nodded understandingly, turning his back to me for a moment before graciously providing me with something red, in a martini glass with a little lemon wedge on the rim. "One Cosmo, on the house." He winked.

"Right. Thank you." I plucked the glass off the counter and tried not to dwell on the fact that I really wished that Cosmo wasn't a virgin. And also, that I still was. Ironic rim-shot.

I'd just lifted the drink- which turned out to be cranberry juice- to my mouth for a sip when I heard, "Kitty, right?"

My head whipped around to the owner of the slightly familiar voice, to find Wanda Maximoff, keepin' it classy in her sparkly black halter top and red leather jacket.

She climbed onto one of the stools, leaving a few empty between us, with a curious once over before turning her attention to the bartender and ordering a whiskey sour.

"I thought you were some hot shot agent with the British Intelligence or something now." She commented while she waited for her drink.

"MI:13." I corrected, and she shrugged, apparently not really caring about my actual profession and simply trying to make small talk. "And you're..."

"At the wedding of my father's ex-lover." She snorted, taking the whiskey sour from the bartender with a thankful nod before turning back to me, "So... not doing so great."

I scrunched my nose up in a grimace, "Ugh, please don't ever say that word again... That's a wild overestimation of their relationship."

"Is it though?" Wanda sniffed before throwing back a mouthful of her drink.

I choose to believe so, yes.

"He's been awfully melancholy all day..." She continued, glancing over her shoulder to where Magneto was sat, her face morphing into a sneer.

I scoffed, "They almost kissed once." I rolled my eyes and sipped on my CranCosmo. "And nobody said he had to come. Or you for that matter."

She shrugged, "I thought it was an open bar, and I like wedding cake."

"You're gunna be really disappointed in the donut wall then..." I muttered into my drink.

"Plus, Lorna's here..." She said disdainfully, as if I should understand why her half-sister's presence should be reason enough for her to attend. I followed her line of sight to Alex and the beautiful green-haired woman seated next to him. "F***ing Lorna." She grumbled into her glass before another mouthful. "She's so stupid, and perfect. With her shiny green hair and her magnetic powers and her no parole officer..."

I shifted uncomfortably in my stool and hummed in acknowledgment in a way that I'd hoped wasn't encouraging.

"I mean, before, my only competition was Pietro. Which was easy, because Pietro straight up sucks. But now I've got this bitch... and papa keeps going on and on about how much they have in common." She paused long enough to take another drink, "Seriously, my father has no standards. I'm the Scarlet Witch. I can literally do anything. But in waltzes this broccoli haired "half-sister" who can pin a colouring page to a refrigerator and suddenly daddy's eyes are all a-sparkle."

"That's... a shame." I nodded as Wanda worked away on her drink, and I was quickly beginning to regret my decision to come hang out at the bar. Thankfully, Wanda had apparently finished with her verbal purge, and was happy to sit in blessed silence from then on, until eventually Pyro stepped up to the microphone to announce the bride and groom's first dance.

Which was apparently to be performed, as a gift, by Amara and her husband Canyon.

Rogue and Remy took their place on the dance floor, and judging by the look on Rogue's face, she was none-too pleased with this surprise gift, and was likely going to yell at me later for letting this slip by, while Amara walked up on stage with a set of bongo's under her arm and her husband following behind with his guitar, and then began to sing a hauntingly and confusingly good rendition of Miley Cyrus's We Can't Stop.

In the midst of the performance, Wisdom found his way back to the bar (shocker) and came to sit down on the stool next to me with a lopsided grin and a scotch in his hand.

"Liquid dinner this evening, Pryde?"

"I deserve it, after the day I've had." I snorted and took a sip of my fake Cosmo.

"Right, well take it easy on those, wouldn't want you to make any drunken mistakes tonight..." He said, as he glanced beyond me to Wanda with a little glimmer of interest in his eye.

"Likewise." I replied pointedly.

He turned his attention back to me with a wink, "I never make mistakes, Petal."

"Uggh." Wanda groaned with an eye roll, "Get a goddamn room already."

"Now, that would be a mistake." Wisdom replied to Wanda without missing a beat, turning back to me with a dry look, "She seems fun."

"Magneto's daughter."

"Ah. No further explanation necessary." He tossed back the rest of his scotch, ordering a second (or third, probably) without wasting any time, at which point other couples began joining the bride and groom on the dance floor.

"I think you're expected to be out there too, love." He commented to me, gesturing towards Mercy and Henri, and Kurt and Storm, dancing along with the insanely inappropriate music.

I snorted, "Trust me, nobody wants me and Piotr within shoe throwing distance right now."

Wisdom has never been one to question any of the weird things I say, and let the comment slide, resting his elbow on the bar as he took a drink of his fresh scotch, "Right, well there are other people you could dance with. You're not chained to the bloke, you know."

"Why would you say that?" My eyes snapped over to him with overt suspicion, "I'm not chained to him. I can do what I want. This is our house, this is our rules." Ugh, that stupid song...

Wisdom made a face at me and turned his attention back to the dance floor, "Well if you're not going to dance, the least you could do is help me find someone to dance with." He said, and there was no mistaking that he was not referring to literal dancing, because this is Wisdom we're talking about.

"Ew, no. The least I could do, is literally nothing."

He ignored me completely and nodded towards one of the tables a few meters away from us, "Table 17, platinum hair, watery eyes, massive breasts... what's her name again?"

I looked, in spite of myself and frowned, "Is she crying?" Overcome with curiosity, I knit my brow and stood up, moving through the tables as the song came to an end and everyone began to clap. "Felicia?" I sat down in the empty seat next to her when she turned and offered me a watery smile, quickly swiping a finger beneath her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, Kitty!" She sniffled, "It's so good to see you! It's been so long! How have you been?"

"I'm... good." I replied with a frown, noticing that she hadn't answered my question, "How are you?"

"Oh, you know weddings..." She flipped a hand with another little sniffle, "That song was so beautiful... and I just get... a little emotional..." She managed to say before a small sob escaped her lips.

The song was not that beautiful.

"Hey! It's okay... whatever... it is..." I said in a pathetic attempt to soothe her, "Don't cry..."

"It's just... it's just hard to watch Remy get married, I guess." She sniffled, "The one that got away."

I furrowed my brow in confusion, "Really? I was under the impression that you... were in love with someone else?"

"Well, yes. He's the love of my life. But Remy was my backup plan. Well to be fair, my second backup plan." She dabbed at her tears with a napkin as she spoke, "But still. You think you have it all planned out, you know? Life... it just... it comes at you." Her voice had begun to waiver again and she shook her head, "Life is what happens when you're busy making plans..."

"... They've been together for like, 8 years. You couldn't have found another backup backup in that-"

"Don't put it off, Kitty, don't put love off." Felicia interrupted, suddenly growing very serious. She grabbed my hands and shook her head, "You just don't know what tomorrow will bring."

I blinked at her, completely at a loss for words here as this normally cool and confident woman lost her marbles right in front of me.

"Is everything alright?" Wisdom's voice came from behind me and I was suddenly so incredibly grateful for his stupid libido.

"Uh yep. This is Felicia." I turned back to him with a plastered on smile and she dropped my hands, "She went out with Doug a few times-"

"Ah Felicia." He purred, ducking down to scoop up her hand and place a kiss on the back like a total perv. "That's a beautiful name."

"Thank you." She chuckled, tucking some of her white hair behind her ear with another little sniffle, "I love your accent. Is that Australian?"

Ooo, it's a good thing she's hot.

Wisdom simply smiled, even though inside he was probably raging, and let out a deep chuckle, "British. Although I've been told I look just like Chris Hemsworth."

I snorted, "Yeah, and I look just like Kate Moss."

Felicia giggled, apparently not put out by my sarcastic comment.

"And what's your name, Chris Hemsworth look-alike?"

"Pete Wisdom, at your service." He said with a little dip of his head, and I stifled a groan.

Seriously, I fell for this, you guys.

Felicia's eyes grew a little bit sad again and her gaze dropped to the ground, "I dated a Pete once..."

"You know what they say, love; The best way to get over an old Pete, is to replace him with a new one." The corner of his mouth quirked up, "A Pete palate cleanser, if you will. Ask Kitty, she's dated a gaggle of Petes." Felicia giggled again and Wisdom's dark smile widened across his face. "Actually, maybe you could give Kitty this bloke's phone number, she's always on the lookout for a new one."

"He's taken, actually." She chuckled and Wisdom clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

"Ah, well that's probably for the best, she's already had three. I think it might be an addiction."

Felicia laughed again gave him a playful little swat, and I tried my best not to throw up in my mouth.

"Alright, I'm gunna go." I announced with an eye roll, and Wisdom waved me off, mostly just as encouragement to get me out of the seat so he could swoop in and put some more moves on Black Cat.

I really wish I had been able to drink, because it was clearly going to be a long reception to suffer through sober.