Aww, poor Remy; theirs all that angst again. Chica: Thanks! Burning Touch: Metal Wolverine? That would be funny. Yes, he's going to Morocco; but do you really think after that massive display of power that Mystique is simply going to let him get away? She's certainly going to hijack something but it won't be a plane. inTHEgrid: ROFL! Yeah, I don't think I would care if Remy lied to me either but Rogue is not in her right mind right now and I don't think that Remy truly understands that. He thinks that was her speaking along with Sabertooth. Sleep? What's that? Sara: thanks for reading and reviewing. Keep reading and your questions will be answered. RogueFreak: Thanks for your review; and I think I laughed for a good five minutes after reading your story. Warrior Zoe: yes! Too much fighting! I'm tired of all this fighting and angst! Lets bring on the Romy! Remy'sRogue: I did promise candy cigarettes soon. I was actually thinking of a sequel to this story but I'm not done yet so, we'll see. In regard to lizard tails, I think that in that case, ignorance is bliss. Now with Remy, I say, let's go exploring! Tammy: I felt compelled to put that discussion in; after all, they are the leaders of the guilds and they have to take control of the issue right? Remy, married? Now that gives me all sorts of ideas ;-) Now everyone, onward!

Marvel's, not mine.

Chapter 25

"C'mon, Remy," Philippe complained to his cousin as they sat on the balcony of Remy's apartment in Morocco. "Ya been here four weeks an' ya hardly go out except when we workin'. We 'ave de night off while we wait for m' contact's ta gather inf'rmation; an' all ya wanna do is jus' sit here an' mope?"

"Yup," Remy took a sip of sweet liquor that his cousin brought over.

"An' I'm guessin' ya don' wanna tell me why?"

"Nope."

"Merde."

"Exactly."

"Does dis have anyting ta do wit' dat femme dat ran outta here las' night, half nekkid an' yellin' dat you call her de wrong name?"

"Not exactly."

"What was her name?"

"I don' remember."

"What did you call her?"

"Anna."

"An' her name wasn't Anna?"

"'Par'ntly not."

"Who's Anna?"

". . ."

"C'mon, Remy," Philippe took the bottle from Remy and took a swig. "Who is she?"

"Don' matter no more."

"Yeah, like I'm gonna buy dat."

"Jus' drop it, Philippe, huh?" Remy took back the bottle. He intended on getting very drunk tonight. "You go out an' have fun, I'll stay here."

Philippe sat back the wicker chair and observed his cousin in the fading light of the evening; Remy was a changed man and there was only one thing that could change a man like Remy; Philippe was just having a hard time believing that it could happen to Remy. He was in love; unhappily in love. All of a sudden there was a knock at the door and when Philippe saw that Remy intended to ignore it, he rose to answer it.

Remy took another swig and tried to remember the girl's name; she was lovely with long, dark hair but when he brought her back to his apartment, once he had gotten her in his bed, that dark hair lightened into a rich shade of auburn with a shock of white. Her coppery skin shimmered in its paleness and those eyes that were as black as sin became glittering emeralds. It always happened; no matter how lovely the girl, no matter how drunk he was, she always became Rogue. He remembered gazing at the young woman that lay beneath him and in her place, it was Rogue. He had missed her so much and he had said her name in ecstasy, in desperation, in longing, in mourning.

"Anna," he had said. "Je t'adore. Je vous veux si mauvais." (I love you/I adore you. I want you so badly.)

Ever since he had left New Orleans, she had haunted his thoughts, invaded his dreams and lingered about his mind so much that he thought he saw her everywhere. He couldn't sleep, he missed her warm body curled up against his own; even thought they had only slept together a few times, he had acclimated himself to her. He missed her full, soft lips and her arms wrapped around him; they were together far too short a time and now he faced the prospect of never being with her again and it made him want to get so drunk that he forgot about everything. Swirling the liquid in the bottle, Remy lifted it to take another drink when a hand plopped down over the top. Remy was quite irritated and looked up to curse his cousin, when he saw that it was not Philippe who prevented his next drink but his father.

"Papa," Remy rose to greet Jean Luc. "Don' tell me ya checkin' up on me."

"Non," Jean Luc seated himself in the chair Philippe had occupied. "I'm comin' ta inform you of a decision by the council; one about de unification of de guilds."

"Dey still wan' me ta marry Belle?" Remy slumped down in his seat.

"What would dat accomplish except allowin' ya ta bed ya wife an' sister-in-law in de same week?"

'Already did dat in de same day,' Remy thought but said nothing. He didn't want to think about being married to Belle and seeing the hurt on Rogue's face. "What dey wan' me ta do now, papa?"

"It's a decision dey didn' come to lightly," Jean Luc began. "Julien be runnin' about stirrin' up trouble an' den slinkin' back inta de shadows b'fore anyone can get to him. Now de Assassins don' tink ya good enough ta marry Belle an' de t'ieves don' wan Belle as part o' de fam'ly."

"How's Anna?" Remy winced even as he asked the question. He was interrupting guild business but he needed to know. "I'm sorry, papa, but I- . . ."

"She's better," Jean Luc nodded in understanding. "For awhile, we didn' know if she was gonna pull t'rough; ev'ry time she open her mouth, dat bastard speak; it was like she was possessed. Not even Tante Mattie could help her."

"But she fine now?"

"Oui," Jean Luc said. "Emille call a frien' o' hers, a mutant telepath, she come down an' help Anna lock de demon away but she say, he always be a part of her now. Dis woman, I t'ink she was part o' de Hellfire Club."

"Quoi? How can you be sure?"

"I had some of our people look into her background. From what dey foun' I'd say it was de White Queen herself. After she leave, Anna be fine an' dat's when Julien start up."

"So," Remy looked down at his hands that were clasped between his knees, relieved that his Anna was alright. "What would de council 'ave me do?"

"Dey propose dat de marriage take place as soon as possible."

"Belle won' be eighteen for anot'er two weeks," Remy did not look up.

"Oui," Jean Luc said.

"So?"

"De ceremony took place yesterday, Remy," Jean Luc said slowly, gauging his son's reaction. "You were married by proxy, Henri was your stand in."

"What?!" Remy stood up, enraged at the attempt to run his life. "I was married an' I ain' even dere? Don' I have ta give my consent?! How could you let them do dis ta me?! Why would Belle agree?"

"It's perfectly legal, Remy," Jean Luc had not moved nor stood. "An' you agreed to be married last year dat was consent enough."

Anger coursed through Remy's veins as he paced the short balcony. He had lost her. It was all he could focus on; he had lost Rogue forever. He picked up the liquor bottle and charged it before smashing it against the wall, watching it shatter into innumerable shards. It did nothing to calm him, however and several small explosions went off around them.

"Enough!" Jean Luc shouted. "You are part of dis guild an' part of dis fam'ly; you will do your duty to both!"

Remy took a deep breathe and tried to calm himself; the explosions ceased but it took longer than usual for him to power down.

"Now dat you 'ave regained control," Jean Luc stood. "You can come inside and greet ya wife."

"Ya brought her here?"

"Tensions were runnin' too high back in Naw'lins. We felt it best to bring her here til evr'yting calm down."

Remy followed his father into the spacious apartment, feeling defeated and numb. Henri was inside speaking with Philippe; they parted when Remy entered the large front room and he knew there was someone behind them on the couch. He resigned himself to face Belle and he looked up, he was taken aback when he found himself staring into a pair of gorgeous emeralds instead.

(A/N: Tell me what you think! And I also might turn this into a two part story or maybe even a trilogy. Any ideas, comments, etc. Don't worry, this isn't the last chapter.)