This was bliss. The sun shone in through the bedroom window, waking Remy. Rogue was snuggled up close to him, tucked under his arm and still sleeping. He couldn't believe his luck. This was now his room. He and Rogue now shared a room. He didn't discount that it was a hasty decision on her part, but she looked so content in her sleep that he was sure the decision was final. He couldn't think of a time he'd been happier.
They hadn't even done anything, but snuggle up and go to sleep last night together in the same bed, and he was in heaven. So this is what it's like being a boyfriend. He could get very used to this. This was a different sort of intimacy; one Remy fell in love with instantly. He was content to stay here in bed with her all day, basking in the sunshine and the feel of her in his arms. He was never leaving this bed.
He heard the bustle and movement out in the hall as everyone else was getting up and facing the day. It was Sunday morning and Remy was so glad that he didn't need to be anywhere but here. He felt Rogue stir in his arms. She blinked her eyes open and stretched her arms out, yawning.
"Morning, Sug," she greeted dreamily.
"Let's stay here forever," he said, resting his head on his hands.
She grinned back. "Okay."
Life as an X-man was never that simple. Half an hour later, Hank was summoning the team to the control room. Mr. Sinister had resurfaced, and Hank had made some startling discoveries with the information Kitty and Emma had obtained weeks ago.
For Dazzler, the most starling discovery was seeing Remy and Rogue emerge from Rogue's room, not even bothering to hide the fact that Remy had spent the night. Both were bright eyed and bushy tailed, gazing adoringly at one another. Needless to say, she was not in a good mood and scowled from across the table.
It was all Rogue needed. She smiled smugly at Dazzler from her side of the table, wrapping her arm through Remy's. Take that, bitch. Remy was oblivious to anything going on between the two women. He was too busy listening to Kitty rattle on about Colossus, while Colossus blushed and dolefully looked down at the table.
Hank cleared his throat for attention. "We've found Sinister in New Orleans," he said.
Remy froze. Sinister had made his way back to Remy's hometown.
Hank continued, "He has taken refuge with a Guild there, one that seems interested in funding his 'research' in biochemistry and genetics."
Please, please, please don't be the Thieves, Remy prayed silently. Rogue squeezed his hand in hers under the table. He gave her a faint smile.
"The Guild of Assassins is harbouring Sinister in exchange for genetic enhancements, now making them the most powerful Guild in New Orleans. Their rival Guild, the Guild of Thieves, has taken a severe blow in numbers from the Assassins."
For Remy, it was a double edged sword. His former Guild and family were not connected to Sinister, but because of Bella Donna's dabbling, they were in danger of extinction. Who knew how many of his friends and family were already dead.
"We need to get to New Orleans right away," Warren said quickly. "The longer we wait here, who knows what Sinister will have done."
"Understand something about New Orleans, Warren. It is not just a city one walks into anymore to stir up trouble. The Guilds rule that city, and you don't cross the Guilds," Remy interrupted.
"Precisely why you've proved to be an asset again, Remy," Storm said. "You can get us in without any trouble."
"Storm, with all due respect, I don't think you fully understand what you've just asked me to do," Remy replied. He could not go back to New Orleans without a full blown war starting up. "As a sign of good faith and honour, I've been exiled. If I show up back in New Orleans, I'm dead on arrival. Both Guilds would be gunnin' for my blood. The Thieves, to uphold their honour, and the Assassins—for revenge. I can't get you in."
"This coming from a master thief," Bobby grumbled.
Storm chose to ignore Bobby. Remy glared at him. Rogue held his hand tighter as if to say, 'he isn't worth it.'
Storm continued, "On the contrary, Remy. I've been in contact with the Patriarch of the Thieves, Jean-Luc, your father. He will only grant the X-men safe passage into New Orleans on the condition that we find his son and bring him back with us."
"You can't be serious," Marie began. "This has 'trap' written all over it!"
"I thought so myself. It is a strange coincidence that the only thing we need to do is find and bring Remy, who just happens to be one of the X-men. It's a little too convenient but, it's our only chance to get into New Orleans without being attacked on site."
"So you're just going hand me in to the Guild, gift wrapped straight from the Blackbird?" Remy said in contempt.
"No, I'm sending you in undercover with Rogue. I refuse to hand in one of my own as collateral. We get what we need from the Guild first, then, we set up a controlled meeting between you and your father. You'll be on hand if we need you," Storm answered.
"So why can't we all just sneak in?" Warren asked.
"Remy is the only one who can sneak in under the radar. He knows the ins and outs of that city so he'll blend in effortlessly. The rest of us are likely to be spotted instantly. It's safer if Remy is away from us for the time being."
Remy could do nothing but agree. He could get himself and Marie into New Orleans easy enough, but the rest of the team would need Jean-Luc's aid. Rogue gave Remy a worried look.
"Its fine, Chere, I can get us in," he reassured.
"Good. You two will leave late tonight and arrive by morning. We'll fly you as far as the city limits, then you're on your own until we rendezvous. Keep your communicators on and minds open for Emma. And for Heaven's sake don't get caught or killed."
Remy spent the rest of the day preparing for their trip. He had created aliases for himself and Rogue, along with maps and routes to best enter New Orleans undetected. He had even gone so far as to get Kitty to break into the DMV and make Rogue a 'real' fake ID. Remy had plenty of his own to choose from. He was leaving nothing to chance. He dug out his credit card for his alias, Robert Lord.
Rogue headed back to her room to find Remy. She had gone for lunch with Emma and Kitty, leaving Remy alone so that he could concentrate on his plan to sneak them into New Orleans.
She spent her lunch hour getting the full scoop to exactly how Remy ended up with the ghastly bruise across his chest. According to Kitty, Remy had gotten himself into a fight with Colossus, who thought Remy was vying for Kitty's love. Colossus went a little hard on Remy in the Danger Room to prove his affections for Kitty. Remy had ended up with three broken ribs and one hell of a bruise. Rogue sighed. Remy could never do anything the easy way. Instead of hitting on Kitty in front of Colossus, he should have just asked the guy straight out. Thankfully, Remy was regaining strength in his mutation and his collected energy restored his bones.
Rogue entered their room and she found Remy sitting at her desk on the phone, making hotel reservations.
"Yes. That's correct. It's Robert Lord," Remy was saying on the phone, now spelling out the name. Marie was startled by Remy's voice. He was talking on the phone in a perfect southern accent that mimicked her own. She had no idea he could even do that. His accent was flawless.
When Remy hung up the phone, he brought out three little jewelry boxes and presented two to Rogue.
"Here you are, Anna, Darlin'," he said in his southern accent, sliding a wedding band and an engagement ring from the boxes and onto her finger. Rogue stared at the sparkling diamonds on her hand. Remy was stuffing his own wedding band on his finger.
"We're now Robert and Anna Lord, hailing from Caldecott County, Mississippi. We're newly weds on our honeymoon to New Orleans. I'm an antiques dealer and you're a school teacher and—" Remy stopped.
Rogue wasn't listening to word he was saying. Instead, she was turning her ring finger this way and that way, letting the diamonds catch the light, brilliantly sparkling. All with a dreamy look on her face.
"Um, Chere, you know that we're not really engaged right? These are our aliases," Remy said, nervously running his hand through his hair.
Marie snapped out of her daydream. "Oh, I know."
Remy didn't seem to hear her and nervously rambled on," 'Cause I mean, if I were to propose… er, was thinking about maybe proposing… sometime— which I'm not!...I um, I would have actually bought and paid for the rings."
Rogue stared at him. "You stole these?"
"I like to think of it more as extended borrowing."
The ride in the Blackbird that night was unpleasant and full of bickering. Why did Bobby have to come along? Logan did what he did best, and ignored it all, focusing on flying the plane while Bobby and Remy were in a heated discussion again with Warren goading them on. Marie sat up front with her headphones on, desperately trying to drown out the noise.
"Honeymooners? Give me a break. That's just an excuse to share a bed with Marie," Bobby said snidely.
"Last time I checked, I was already sharing her bed," Remy retorted back.
"Oh burn!" Warren yelled out excitedly.
"And if you must know, O wise and glorious team leader, the reason I chose honeymooners as cover is purely tactical. No one ever suspects honeymooners of anything but being giddy on love. And number two, honeymooners are given privacy. It won't be suspicious at all if we barely leave our room and keep the door plastered with 'do not disturb' signs," Remy remarked casually.
"Wow. That's ingenious, man," Warren said in awe as Bobby just crossed his arms and stared out the window.
"Storm could have sent you with any other girl," Bobby mumbled.
Logan couldn't hold his tongue any longer. He'd had enough of this whining and arguing. "Storm chose to send him with Marie because they'll keep each other alive. You can bet Remy would give his life defending her, and Rogue would do the same for him. You don't want to fight against a pair with that kind of ferocity. Your odds aren't good."
Remy couldn't help himself and gave Bobby the 'so there' look. Bobby furrowed his brow and scowled out the window.
After Logan had said his peace, the rest of the trip remained silent. As planned, Rogue and Remy were dropped off just outside the city. Remy had already secured them a ride. The Blackbird left and Remy and Rogue got into a sporty little car that Rogue didn't even want to know how Remy had gotten a hold of.
"Here we go, Anna," Remy said to her as they entered the city and he popped on a pair of sunglasses. The sun was just breaking over the horizon.
The pair reached their hotel, and Remy checked them into their room, early, as per arranged by Mr. Lord. Rogue was dead on her feet and didn't even care or bother to read which hotel they were staying in. All she was going to do was sleep when they got up to their room. Remy carried her luggage and found their suite. As tired as she was, Rogue was awe struck when she finally saw their room.
The floor and the bed were adorned with rose petals. Candles were placed on almost every surface with a pack of matches by the door to light them. The room housed a king size bed with the most plush pillows Rogue had ever seen. The room was complete with a Jacuzzi tub majestically placed in the corner of the bedroom, leading off to an en suite bathroom. Beside the Jacuzzi, a small table and chairs was set up. Two flutes and a bottle of champagne already on ice, with a fruit and cheese platter were arranged.
Remy picked up a small note card on the table. "Congratulations on your happy new marriage," Remy read. "It's from the hotel manager. I guess they go all out for newly weds."
He shrugged and went to open the bottle. "No point in letting this go to waste," he said, popping the bottle and pouring her glass.
Funny thing, Rogue thought to herself. I'm not all that tired anymore. It didn't even strike her as odd that while everyone else was starting brunch, she was starting champagne.
When they finished dining on the fruit platter and champagne, Remy put the empty tray outside the door and put their 'do not disturb' sign on the knob. Rogue crawled into her pajamas and into bed, falling asleep immediately. Remy plugged in their laptop and set up base, sweeping the room for bugs and cameras first. The room was clean. No one ever expects honeymooners of anything suspicious. All that was left was to wait the days out until they heard from Storm.
