The next Saturday, Remy and Nori climb on Remy's recently-acquired motorcycle and drive down to Brooklyn. Traffic is relatively light—and Remy doesn't always quite obey the speed limit- and it takes them less than an hour and a half. Nori telepathically guides him to a restaurant she'd found online. Remy parks the bike on the sidewalk and chains it to a bike rack. "Technically, you can get a ticket for that, but it seems like they hardly ever enforce it," Nori says. "Or at least they didn't used to."
"I'll take my chances," Remy drawls.
The restaurant promises "New Southern" food and Nori says, "So, I've never been here, but it has a really good rating on Yelp. And I thought you'd like it?"
He kisses her. "Ma fille douce," he says. They walk in, carrying their helmets, and find Rachael sitting at a table near the front. She and Nori embrace, and Remy shakes her hand.
Rachael grins at Nori's black plastic glasses. "Look at you, Rivers Cuomo!"
Nori shrugs. "You can take the girl out of Williamsburg, but you can't take the Williamsburg out of the girl. Just, you know, trying to blend in a little."
"Well, they look good."
"Thanks! Hey, I thought your new girlfriend was coming?" Nori asks.
"Ah, she's on call today and something came up this morning. She said she'd try to come late if she could get out of there on time."
"She's breaking my heart!"
Rachael laughs. "I have to tell you that Cece is definitely tired of hearing that song."
"Shit. Well, I'd better get it out of my system before she gets here." Remy looks confused, and Nori says, "Her name's Cecilia. Like the Simon & Garfunkel song? Cecilia, you're breaking my heart/You're shaking my confidence daily?"
"Oh, oui, I do know that song."
"Whew," Nori says.
Remy excitedly orders a seafood jambalaya and hopes it tastes half as good as anything from New Orleans. Nori gets a vegetarian po'boy and Rachael, after looking over the entire menu with a faint look of distaste, orders a garden salad.
"So, you guys are ring shopping?" Rachael asks, slight distaste still written on her face.
"Yes, we are," Nori says, with a grin that overpowers Rachael's hesitance.
"Well... I hope you find one you like." She reaches in her bag and pulls out a small stack of paper. "I made a few prototype invitations for you. I've been experimenting with linoleum block printing."
Beaming, Nori spreads them out in front of her and Remy. One has a vivid red heart stamped on it. Another has a delicate rose border. But the third one has two doves, one red and one black. "This one," Nori and Remy say in unison. "It's perfect," Nori says.
"I kind of thought so myself," Rachael admits, "But I made a couple others just to give you some options."
The text, composed by Nori, reads:
Noriko Oyama and Remy LeBeau
Are Getting Married
(Or Whatever)
And Will be Serving Celebratory Cupcakes at
Four PM on Friday, May 30
1402 Greymalkin Lane
Salem Center, NY
For Directions, Call 914-825-6584
Be There or Be Square
No Gifts, Please
(Material Possessions Are Transient)
"As wedding invitations go, it's pretty solid," Rachael says.
"Right?" Nori says. "So, uh, can you make like... 60?"
"Sixty?" Remy asks.
"Well, I want all the kids to get one. It'll make them feel... you know, special. Included."
"Yeah, no problem," Rachael says.
"You are the best."
Their food arrives, and Nori stacks the prototype invitations back and hands them to Rachael, who says, "Nah, keep them." Nori nods and slips them into her purse, and then carefully begins the arduous task of eating her overstuffed sandwich without spilling it everywhere. After a few bites she gives up and resorts to fork and knife. If Nori were in charge of things, all foods would be bite sized. Remy grins at her and enjoys his meal. It's not bad; he suspects there might be an actual Cajun back in the kitchen.
Rachael's phone buzzes; she reads the message and beams. "Cece's on her way."
"Yay!" Nori says. Remy smiles and hopes to God Rachael's girlfriend is a little easier to get along with than she is.
Just as Remy finishes savoring his last spicy bite, a small, tough-looking Latina woman with-Remy cannot help but notice-a great ass breezes into the restaurant and settles herself down at their table. She kisses Rachael on the cheek.
"Cece, I'm so glad you could make it," Rachael says. "This is my best friend, Nori."
"Hi! It's so nice meet you!" Nori says, happily extending a hand. Cecilia takes it, a guarded expression on her face.
"Yes. Likewise," she says, coolly.
"And this is Nori's fiance, Remy."
"Enchante," Remy says, offering a hand. Cecilia nods and says nothing.
Nori raises her eyebrows briefly at Rachael, who shrugs minutely. "So, ah, Cecilia," Nori says. "You're a doctor?"
"Yes. I practice emergency medicine at New York Methodist hospital."
"That's really great! How long have you been there?"
"For about three years now."
"Have you always wanted to be a doctor?"
"Yes."
Remy squeezes Nori's knee under the table. Cecilia's tone has been downright icy throughout the conversation, and finally Nori says, "I'm sorry... is something wrong?"
Cecilia crosses her arms and says, "I just..." she purses her lips, "I know who you are."
"Well... okay," Nori says, looking a little hurt and confused. "I mean, Rachael just introduced us."
Cecilia narrows her eyes. "I just think that you two, and your group, did a lot to hurt the cause of mutant rights."
Nori blushes. "Oh-I-"
Rachael says, "Stop, Cece. They're good people. They were doing what they thought was right."
"That doesn't always matter, does it?" Cecilia asks.
"Hey. Come on. If you know who we are, then you know what has been done to us," Remy says. "Don't judge us before you walk a mile in our shoes, eh?"
Nori stares down at her fingernails and says nothing.
"What do you mean, what's been done to you?" Cecilia asks, a little too loudly. Rachael squeezes her hand, and the waiter glances over at them, then away.
"We were both held prisoner, experimented on by the government. What, you never saw that part in the news?" Remy asks.
"They-they never found any proof that any of that stuff was true," Cecilia says.
"You want proof? We have been living with proof for years," Remy says, his hand still firmly on Nori's knee.
"Nori's not a liar," Rachael says. "Uh, and neither is Remy," she adds, hastily. "Kiki? Are you okay?"
Nori doesn't respond, and Remy leans down to whisper in her ear. Nori sighs and says, "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I just don't like to... to talk about it."
"It was all a little more recent for her than for me," Remy says.
They've managed to lower the conversation down to a normal enough volume that the waiter hesitantly approaches to take new drink orders. Nori gets a glass of wine, which she holds with two slightly-trembling hands. Remy glowers at Cecilia. He hopes she's happy.
"Why don't you hear their side of it?" Rachael asks.
"Here?" Nori says, glancing around.
"Maybe back at my apartment," Rachael concedes.
"Also, we have to go soon-we have an appointment with Teo, the artisan, at three," Nori says. "Maybe later this afternoon we could get a drink or something? If you want?" Her face and tone are so hurt and vulnerable that Cecilia softens.
"Yes, all right," she says. "I-I'm sorry I upset you. I was just-I've heard so many things about you."
"You believe everything you hear?" Remy asks.
"No," Cecilia says. "But..."
Rachael says, "Let's just table this for later, all right? Please?"
"Yes. Fine," Cecilia says.
"Works for me," Remy says, and Nori just nods. Her expressive face is still pained. Quietly furious, Remy calls over the waiter and settles their bill.
"Rachael, it is always a pleasure to see you," he says, rising.
"I'll give you a call after our appointment," Nori says softly. "Bye, Rae." They slip out of the restaurant, leaving behind an angry and slightly chagrined couple.
On the street, Remy says, "Fuck that woman." He hugs Nori. "You're okay, cher, we're safe," he reminds her.
"Do you think it's true, what she said? That we made it harder for mutants? Oh, of course we did, for some."
"We helped some, too, cherie. And what have you always said about regrets?"
"They're useless," she says, head bowed.
Remy lets out a frustrated breath. "Oh, cher, let's get out of here. We have wedding rings to pick out."
She smiles up at him. "Yeah. We do." She stands up on tiptoe to kiss him. "I love you."
"And I am very glad that you do," he replies. He unlocks the bike and they climb on. It doesn't take them long to get to the artisan's studio, but the fresh air and the feel of Remy's warm back against her face help reinvigorate Nori, and she's back to a smiling mood when they arrive. Remy parks and locks the bike before putting his arms around her and twirling her in a circle. They're still laughing when they walk into the gallery, and Teo smiles.
"I love working with happy couples," he says. He has a faint Mexican accent, though his English is perfect. "You are Midori and Henri?"
"Yes," Nori says.
"Beautiful, beautiful. Now. Let me show you some examples, and we will talk." He shows them rings, as well as his little workshop. He coos over Nori's engagement ring and sketches up a matching design, which Nori loves. He promises he can finish their rings well before their planned date, though he scolds them a little for waiting so long to talk to him.
"We called as soon as we heard about your studio!" Nori says. "We were just waiting for the right person to come around."
"Ah, well, I suppose I can forgive you, then."
Remy and Nori are both feeling pretty content when they step out of Teo's studio. But Nori's smile fades when she pulls her phone out of her pocket.
"Cher, we don't have to go back and see them. We can just go home. Or go somewhere else."
"No, no, I have to call. I have to try again, for Rachael."
Remy nods. He comes behind her and wraps his arms around her waist. "Well, you just call her, then. We'll do whatever you need to do."
"Remy, how did you get to be so great?"
"Just born this way, I s'pose."
She laughs and calls her friend. "Rae? … yeah, we're done. … Yeah, he was really great. … Yeah, no, I understand... Yeah, it's kind of surprising, I know... I know, right? ... Are you sure? We don't want to-... Okay, okay, we'll be there... We're over in Park Slope so it'll be a minute... Okay see you soon. … Love you too. Bye."
She squirms and turns around within Remy's arms, tilting her head back to look up at him. "She says Cecilia's calmed down a little, and we should come over and talk."
"If you're sure you want to."
"I'm sure."
"Just don't let her get you down, cherie. You're a kind, brave lady. Don't forget that."
She rises to kiss him. "And you are the best thing that's ever happened to me. Thank you for... for keeping me together."
"It's a mutually beneficial arrangement," he drawls. "I happen to like you together. Now, let's go convince Dr. Cecilia that we aren't out to destroy everything for all mutantkind."
"Shouldn't be too hard, right?" she murmurs. They climb back on Remy's bike and Nori directs him to a ten-story brick building. I think this is it. I haven't actually been out to her new place.
They look up and see Rachael and Cecilia standing out on the third-floor fire escape. Rachael waves down at them while Remy secures the bike.
"I'll go inside and buzz you in. We're in 3B," Rachael calls down, and Nori opens the door upon hearing the dull bzzzt. They walk into a small lobby with a row of mailboxes and a dingy linoleum floor, and they ascend the stairs and knock on 3B. Rachael opens the door and hugs Nori. "I'm so sorry," she whispers.
Nori smiles and Remy maintains a neutral, pleasant expression. "This is a nice place, Rae!" Nori exclaims. There are paintings and photos everywhere, and the living room gets a lot of light. There's an easel, and a brightly-painted keyboard. It's tiny, by Remy's standards, but he knows it's big for New York.
Rachael smiles back and says, "Well, you know, I had to leave Williamsburg after the hipsters took it over." Also, she couldn't afford to hang onto a two bedroom apartment after her roommate had disappeared, but she left that unsaid.
"Well, it's nice. Prospect Heights is nice."
Remy and Nori follow Rachael into the living room. Cecilia climbs in from the fire escape, her face carefully composed.
"Look," she says bluntly. "I'm sorry. I just-I didn't realize. Rachael kind of filled me in a little. It would have been nice if she'd done that before, but-but, okay, I didn't know. I mean. You guys know what they say about the Brotherhood of Mutants on the news, right? And I-I just wanted to be left alone. I just wanted to be a doctor. Like it wasn't hard enough being a woman? Being a Puerto Rican? I had to be a mutant, too? And-after the Blackout, everybody knew I was a mutant. And-it was hard. But-but I'm coming to terms with it." She smiles at Rachael.
"I get that," Nori says. "I just wanted to be left alone, too. But-I wasn't. So I made what I thought was the best choice, given my options. I-Magneto took me in. He rescued me from Stryker. And he really believes that what he's doing is best for mutant rights. He is... very persuasive. I never wanted to hurt anybody. But I thought-we thought-we were preventing more people from being hurt, in the future." She's terribly earnest, and Cecilia gives her a small smile.
Remy nods. "Of course the news makes Magneto out to be a bad guy. And he... ain't the nicest guy, no. But not all of us can hide being mutants, eh?" he says, looking right at Cecilia with his red-on-black eyes. "Sometimes you don't have too many choices. Sometimes it seems like a good idea to fight back." He's holding Nori's hand tightly.
Cecilia sighs. "You're right. I-I shouldn't have been so quick to judge. And I should have known that Rachael wouldn't be friends with you if you were such terrible people as I thought."
"I don't know, Cece, I'm friends with some pretty awful people," Rachael says lightly.
"I also think..." Nori starts, then trails off. "I think Magneto is losing it. He...he's been through a lot, and I don't think... well, I think he could really benefit from therapy. Even before we left the Brotherhood, I think he was slipping, and the things I see him doing now..." she shakes her head.
Remy nods. "Yeah, his time with Stryker... really did a number on him."
Nori shivers. She can't keep her empathy in check and she's emitting fear and shyness and discomfort. "Look," she says. "Do you have any other questions for us, Cecilia? We want to get along."
Cecilia narrows her eyes and says, "Just one more question. The Blackout—you said, you said that that guy Stryker was trying to kill all the mutants?"
"He was. He would have, if it weren't for Magneto," Nori says quietly.
"That's what those headaches were about," Remy says. He makes eye contact with Cecilia and focuses his charm a little bit.
"How did it work? What caused it?"
"Uh... I mean, I'm not exactly sure, you know, the details, but Stryker built this machine, and then he kidnapped and drugged a telepath—Charles Xavier—and made him... made him concentrate all his powers on all mutants. And—and he made me help," she says at a voice barely above a whisper.
"I'm sorry," Cecilia says. "I'm sorry, I just—I'm a scientist, I have to know... what are your powers, exactly? I was never clear on that when they talked about you in the news."
"Well, I magnify the powers of other mutants. And I'm an empath. You, uh, you might have noticed that second one."
"Huh," Cecilia says. "Well, what about—the humans? What caused that?"
"Magneto reversed the machine," Nori says softly. "After Remy took me out of it. So it—it wasn't as bad for humans, as for mutants, I guess."
Remy's face is pained, remembering the sight of Nori, drugged and helpless, standing in Stryker's Cerebro. He shakes his head minutely, trying to rid himself of the memory. Nori notices and sends him a little mental wave of reassurance.
"What about you?" Nori asks.
"Oh..." Cecilia says. "I can make kind of like a force field around myself."
"That's a really great power," Nori says, a little jealously. Of course, she can kind of do that now too, but she would have loved to have had that from the get-go.
"Yeah. I guess," Cecilia says. She stifles a yawn. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be rude, but I just—I've been working night shifts all week, and then this morning I had to go in—"
Nori looks thoughtful. "You know...it isn't really my place, but I think Xavier would probably offer you a job. We need a doctor at the school, and it's a little hard to advertise for a mutant doctor. Or even a human doctor who would treat us like... people."
"I don't know," Cecilia says doubtfully. "I'm not really cut out to be a school nurse."
"It's more than that. Hank does a lot of research too, about, uh, the X-gene, and stuff."
"Hank?" Cecilia asks.
"Dr. Henry McCoy. He's been filling in at the school but it's really too much for him, since he has... other obligations."
"Dr. Henry McCoy works at your school?" Cecilia asks, a little incredulously.
"Yeah," Nori says.
"Oh my God. He is brilliant."
"Yeah," Nori repeats, with a smile. She fishes in her purse and pulls out a business card. "Here. Call any time. Come visit, come meet him. I think you would like it there."
Rachael purses her lips. Nori hopes she doesn't get mad about Nori trying to poach her girlfriend, and Nori adds, "Or, you know, if you know any other mutant doctors. But, just... don't tell anyone about the school that you don't trust. Please."
"Of course. Of course," Cecilia says. "Wait, who's Midori?"
"Oh. I am. Uh, my real name is still a little bit wanted by the FBI, or whatever."
"And this Xavier guy knows that?"
"He's the one who got us our fake IDs," Nori says.
"It really is a special school," Rachael says, only a little bit grudgingly.
Nori beams.
"Well... I'll think about it," Cecilia says. "I need to get home and get some sleep. It was nice meeting you. I... appreciate your being willing to talk to me like this."
"Of course," Nori says. "It was nice to meet you, too."
Remy takes a deep breath and forces himself to be forgiving. It's what Nori would want. "Would you like us to walk you home?"
Cecilia grins. "I'll be fine. Nobody can mess with me, remember?"
"Ah. I suppose not," Remy says, remembering her power. "Well—pleasant dreams, then," he says, offering his most charming smile. Cecilia smiles back before turning to kiss Rachael goodbye.
After she leaves, Rachael sighs. "I'm so sorry, you guys. I don't know why I didn't realize—that she would be so freaked out."
Nori shrugs. "She's right. There was a lot of shit about us on the news." She graciously says nothing about Rachael's initial distrust of Remy for similar reasons.
"I guess—I really do get it now," Rachael says. "Why you want to stay at the school."
"Yes."
There's a moment of silence, and then Rachael says, brightly, "So, have you thought about a dress?"
Nori groans. "I don't know. Just, you know, something pretty?"
"Are you thinking vintage?"
"If possible?"
Rachael sighs. "Tell you what, Kiki, I'll hit up all the vintage and thift stores around the city and see what I can find. Then maybe in a couple weeks you can come back and I'll show you a short list? I know how you feel about clothes shopping."
Nori grins. "And I know how you feel about clothes shopping. But seriously, that would be completely amazing."
"I'm mainly doing it because otherwise you would probably show up wearing the outfit you're wearing now, and that would hurt me more than it would hurt you."
Both women laugh, and Remy allows himself to relax a little. The trio chat for a little while longer before Nori decides that they should really go back to Westchester. She embraces Rachael and promises to come back soon to look at dresses.
Out on the sidewalk, Remy says, "So, cher, you want to go home?"
"Nope, I want to go get pizza!" She guides Remy to a dumpy looking little place in her old neighborhood. They have to park a block away, since there are so many bicycles chained up near the restaurant. Remy looks at it dubiously, but Nori says, "Thank God it's still open. I promise, Vinnie's has the best pizza."
"Vinnie's?"
"Do not make fun. It is the best."
Inside, Remy sees why Rachael had been teasing Nori about her glasses. Nearly everyone inside the crowded restaurant, which has plastic furniture and red-and-white checkered vinyl tablecloths, is wearing a similar pair.
They order by the slice and he blinks when he sees how enormous the pieces are. Nori teaches him how to fold his pizza, though he can't quite figure out how she's avoided getting grease on her face. "You're right, cherie," he says, after his first bite. "This is the best pizza." She looks smug and goes up to the counter to get more.
"Pretty good day, right?" she says as they leave the restaurant.
"Not bad at all," he agrees, leaning down to kiss her before she puts her helmet on.
That evening they sit in the kitchen and drink with Logan. Remy vents a little about Cecilia.
Nori sighs and says, "Yeah. I know. But, you know, it's hard to be a queer woman of color. It's easy for that to make you hard, too. And add to that being a mutant? And an ER doctor? I'm surprised she's not more of a bitch. You don't know, Remy. You don't know how hard it is to get taken seriously. Being bitchy is one way to get it done. And it's easy, since you're so stressed out from having to be better, and faster, and tougher than all the white men out there."
Remy raises his eyebrows, and Nori continues, "I mean, I'm a fucking great musician, okay? I've won awards, I've sold a lot of records, I've played at all the coolest music festivals—if not always on the mainstage," she says with a grin. "But if I walk into a guitar shop, and if there's a man behind the counter—and there is always a man behind the counter in guitar shops—and he doesn't recognize me right away, he's going to patronize the shit out of me, tell me I should get silk-and-steel strings because they're easier, when I know I need bronze ones. And if I wanted, I could snap at him and put him in his place. And, okay, I've done that a few times. But that just… that's what people want. They want to think women who are good at things are bitches. So just…think about that, when you think about Dr. Cecilia Reyes."
Remy and Logan both look at her thoughtfully. "Y'know, I think I might like to see you cut somebody down to size," Logan says.
She tosses her hair and grins. "Well, Logan, piss me off and see where it gets you."
He laughs. "Don't think I want to see it that bad."
Remy shakes his head. "You don't."
Nori blinks up at him innocently. "Hey. I don't think I've ever reacted unreasonably to any of your shenanigans."
"I just bet you haven't," Logan says, and Remy can't disagree.
"But seriously, if either of you tries to tell me how to tune my guitar I will fuck your shit up," Nori says.
"Wouldn't dream of it, cher," Remy says smoothly, and Logan nods in agreement.