Disclaimer: Okay, we all know I don't own the X-Men. Maybe I could borrow them for a while… and by borrow, I mean take them and never give them back.

A/N: Yay, thanks for all the great squealy responses to last chapter! Sadly, there's no more of the uber fluff today. We're continuing on with the plot, which really needs to get going, since we've only got about 2 chapters left. Oh, how the time flies…

Krys Xanthina, Goldylokz, Calliann, vespie, Jukebox, ladyshopsticks, Midnight Selene, the tiny one, chibidrummergirl, bitrona, The Sphinx Minx, le-diable-blanc, SadYear, Tokyobabe2040, Linda Keene, The Rogue Cajun, Rogue14, Riannin, EternalStarlight, me, Danfred, De-Femme-O-Da-Night, Peace215, Lisa, roguewannabe29, Rogue4787, roguelebeaux003, AnalisDestiny, Taineyah, Arain Rowan/Arin Ross/Anee, Katrina5, RoguesHeart, VinGirl, frozen fire, PomegranateQueen, PsychoRomyChica, & danielle britton – Alright, we've seen people give out stars, bunnies, medals, plushies, you name it. So I thought I'd be even more original, to truly show how much I appreciate your reviews… Ok, what haven't we seen before? Anyone want a toaster?

Seven Sunningdale – You know, I was SO crushed by your request for not so much third-person that I curled up in a ball and cried… Nah, kidding, no worries. I was trying to go for the more impactful thing when he says "I" actually, if you notice in chpt. 11 when he says it, it's in the more serious situations and such. Hey, you give us a happy ending, and I'll gladly go through my whole fic and change it to first-person if you want! Ahh bribery, is there anything better? By the way, I loved your reaction to the sex. You really do love the Belle torture, don'tcha? She shows up today, but no torture. Yet. ;-)

Aro – I feel your pain with evil non-sending reviews too. We can start a support group - you're gonna get over this, don't worry!

heartsyhawk – Speechless, eh? Good reaction. But pregnancy? That'd be an interesting plot line, but it won't happen. Let's assume they used protection, shall we? I just didn't write it in there, cuz it'd really kill the flow if between all the sappy fluff there was suddenly, "But first Remy had to put on a condom". NOT that I condone unprotected sex! Cuz that's just stupid. And they aren't stupid. Henceforth they used protection. Or it just magically appeared or something – a wizard did it! Ok?

Zen Bailong & Girl number 1 – Wow, thanks for saying that my fic is on the level with those awesome ones you mentioned! Holy ego boost, batman!

Green Eyed Lilys Daughter – Yeah, the Assassins are just full of asses. How apt! And no, I don't think they'd like the mistress thing. And yes, Johnny Depp club ahoy! He could be our mascot, which would only make sense.

Michelle – Woah, back the crazy train up a bit! Actually, I think you fell off the crazy train. ;-)

Princess of Monkeys – Glad we can scare your coworkers. And actually, the 90 thing was inspired by the weather channel. I didn't want to go too graphic, partially cuz I didn't feel like upping the rating, but also cuz I think the imagination can fill in the blanks much better than I could. You know what sort of fun things that can come up with! evil leer You're into angsty character trauma? Nah, I think you're into angsty reader trauma – where's your update, woman? Do you have any idea how twitchy I am? I'm gonna keep hounding you about this! But only cuz I love. ;-)

Panther Nesmith – I'm a crack dealer? Sweet! I have such lofty goals… Mmm, the wet clothes part was my favourite too. And you were right, enter Belladonna, stage left!

Krac – Here's cameo goodness! And I'm still waiting for Lapin… ;-)

XXFleurdelySxX – Ahh, angry Fleur scares me! You made me want to hang my head in shame, you really did. Don't worry, I'll try to make it up to you! Eventually.

Star-of-Chaos – Yum, Remy with a side of waffles… drool!

Caliente – Your crassness made me laugh. Yeah, you would throw in uber angst! I'm not as evil as you. Instead of angst, there'll be plenty of juicy drama coming up though! And sorry, I honestly don't care about the Super Bowl. Your crazy American rules make no sense to my simple Canadian brain!

SassyGrl024 – I made you cry? Sweet! I mean, not that I purposely set out to do so, cuz that'd be pretty mean, but I'm just glad I got such a powerful reaction out of somebody! Huzzah.

Remy's Angy – You weren't the only giddy one. Seriously, when I was typing it out, I was just sporadically giggling, it was amusing. Too good? Oh, does that mean I can stop trying? ;-)

Lightspeed Suzuka – It's ish-AND-a-half. Not that it makes sense either way… it was the crack. As always.

Before we start, just thought I'd mention that I don't own Kae, whom you will shortly read about. It's another fun cameo appearance, this time by Krac! She's so kindly giving me cameos in her fics (which you all should read by the way – get on that trolley, go! Well, maybe not now, how about after you read this puppy?), so I'm reciprocating the gesture. Obviously I don't own her. Or do I? Nope. Once again, no slavery ring for me… yet!


February Fifteenth

Chapter Twelve – Expectations

Belladonna arrived at St. Louis Cathedral early, anxious to verify that everything was in place. Actually, she was anxious in general – after all, it was her wedding day. The rain from last night had cleared, and turned into a beautiful, sunny morning; that meant worrying about the weather could be put aside. All that was left was one last finalization for the catering, making sure the flowers and decorations had been properly arranged, putting on her gown and makeup, and of course, hoping that Remy didn't have a hangover from his last night of bachelorhood. After all the hard work she put into planning her storybook wedding, she was determined it would be perfect.

The pretty blonde woman bounced around excitedly, followed by a less-enthusiastic redhead, already annoyed by her companion's constant chattering and criticisms.

"Kae, chère, I wish y'd take out yo' nose stud, it won' go wit' de whole formal look o' everyone else! It be bad 'nough dat y' dyed yo' hair black un'erneat' – did y' do dat jus' t' piss me off? Don' know why y' insist on bein' so "original"," Belle complained to her, while Kae just rolled her eyes and tried to repress an evil grin. It really was too easy to piss Belle off – and fun too, in her opinion. "An' don' get me started on dat tattoo on yo' back! Had t' change all de bridesmaid dresses so dat it wouldn' show when y're walkin' down de aisle!"

"Which tattoo? I've got three," Kae grumbled, scowling at the thought of the monstrosity she was being forced to wear – a flouncey pink taffeta nightmare that she was quite certain had been summoned up from the depths of hell. "You could've changed the colour too, but nooo!"

"Oh hush, it'll look darlin' on y', I don' know why y' always wear dose dark colours all de time," she replied as they entered the church. She gasped in awe upon viewing the beautiful floral arrangements all laid out.

Carefully inspecting the set-up, everything seemed to meet Belle's expectations. 'Thank the Lord,' thought Kae caustically. She knew the Assassin could throw impressive tantrums, but she would hate to see one on her wedding day – it just might scare the groom away.

The bride was already eager to put on her gown, even though it was early, so the girls began to make their way down to the church's lower levels to go change. On the way, they ran into Jean-Luc and Henri. "M'sieurs LeBeau!" exclaimed Belle. "Why y' here so early?"

"Bonjour, Belladonna. Y' look radiant, as always," the Guild patriarch greeted her. "We jus' wanted t' see if everyt'in' was ready fo' m' son's big day." The lie was simplistic enough, and so she accepted it readily. The real reason they were there was to finalize the organization of Remy's protective services, but for obvious reasons she couldn't be informed of that. While it seemed unlikely that she was in on her brother's plan, the chance couldn't be taken.

Belle gracefully blushed at his compliment, even though he was just stating the obvious. Impatiently she asked them, "Is Remy here yet? Dat boy better not b' late, or he's in fo' it!"

"Non, he's still home, y' know how he is. But don' worry, I left Tante Mattie wit' de task o' draggin' him out o' bed, so he'll be here soon. Dere's no way he'll get away from her."

"Now why'd he wan' t' do a t'ing like dat?" laughed Belle, not even noticing the posture of the men in front of her stiffen ever so slightly. "He is marryin' moi, after all."

"He's jus' exaggeratin', o' course. But aren' de bride an' groom not supposed t' see each ot'er 'till de weddin'?" Henri questioned, quickly changing the subject.

She scoffed. "Dat's a stupid tradition. I wan' t' see Remy."

"Relax," Kae said shaking her head in vexation. Spending time with her friend was beginning to feel more like babysitting. "He'll be here eventually. Come on, let's go get you ready."

The two thieves watched them silently until they were out of earshot. "Y' sure y' wan' her as a belle-fille (daughter-in-law)?" Henri asked his father.

"It don' matter what I wan', an' y' know dat," he replied. "Y' t'ink she's in on it?"

"Non, she's a lousy actrice (actress). 'Sides, she's in love wit' Remy. She wouldn' wan' him dead."

"Let's hope she still feels de same way after her père (father) and frère (brother) get punished by de elders, henh? Come, we got work t' do."

While their planning continued, a floor below them an excited young woman was helped into her wedding dress.

"Merde, I can' believe how good I look!" Belle proclaimed, twirling around in a huge heap of white silk and lace.

"Aren't you the refreshingly modest one," Kae sarcastically responded. Belle had the ability to potentially wear a paper bag and make it look good, and she was all too aware of that fact.

"I can' wait until Remy sees me in dis, he'll just die!" she continued, unaware that anybody else had spoken. "Still can' believe 'm actually gettin' married t'day, y' know? An' t' Remy, no less! Now I can brag dat I was de one t' make de ladies' man o' N'Awlins finally settle down."

"Belle, you do remember that this was an arranged marriage, right?"

To that, she just waved a perfectly manicured hand, as if swatting the pesky matter away. "Oui, but dat don' matter, 'cause we love each ot'er anyway. Would've happened sooner or later, it's not like we're bein' forced int' dis! An' who're y' t' talk 'bout true love anyway? Y' still got dat soft spot fo' Lapin?"

A glare was her only response. The question was redundant; Belle was the one who had pinpointed the exact origin of the crush, back in the tenth grade when Émil had finally given up dropping frogs down Kae's shirt.

"Y' don' know what we've got. De way he looks at me, de way he treats me like une princesse (a princess), jus' like I should be… He loves me, y' can jus' tell wit' dese t'ings. I can' wait 'till it's official!"

"You're lucky," Kae told her sincerely. "Hope it works out for you."

Belle looked at her with a questioning glance. "Why'd y' say dat?"

She just shrugged. "Don't know, no reason I suppose. Sounded like the right thing to say."

"Y're so silly, y' know dat? 'Course it's gonna work out. Now, can y' be a chère an' go pick a few flowers from some o' de arrangements upstairs? 'M gonna put some in m' hair."

"Sure," came an indifferent reply.

"Make sure dat y' get de good blooms!"

"Mm-hmm," humoured Kae as she moved out into the hallway. Anything that would postpone the horror of putting on her bridesmaid dress was a godsend.

"An' don' take too many from one bouquet! We can' have dem lookin' bare!"

"Whatever!" came the shout from outside, with the shut door doing nothing to reduce the amount of exasperation carried in it – it was going to be a long day.

Satisfied, Belle turned back to the mirror, content to examine her reflection some more. A rather loud knock a minute later interrupted her. "Come in!" she called, her eyes never shifting.

Nobody entered, and another rap followed. "Come in, Kae! It ain' locked," yelled Belle.

Still nobody crossed the threshold. At the sound of one more knock, Belle was irritated enough to finally drag herself away from the mirror.

"Merde, how many flowers did y' bring dat y' couldn' open de door yo'self?" she muttered as she gathered up her dress and headed towards the door. Then the thought that it might be Remy coming to catch her unawares popped into her mind; the idea of her dashing prince pulling a romantic stunt like that made her smile, and she pulled open the door in anticipation of her surprise.

Only blocks away, Rogue had watched another woman's fiancé leave with pain written all over her face. She waited until she heard the suite door shut, and then let herself weep. She couldn't remember the last time she had cried, but now silent tears fell down her face without remorse. Almost as if they were saving up for this moment. With every fibre of her being she wished and hoped and prayed that he would come back to her – and yet she couldn't blame him if he did what was best for his Guild either.

Wiping the moisture from her face, Rogue crawled out of the sheets. She showered, using a fruity body wash to replace his spicy scent; it only served as a reminder of what they had shared. Then she got dressed - the whole time moving slowly, as if in a trance. Her wardrobe was compiled of mostly black attire; today that matched her mood better than ever before. All she could think about was him, how he had touched her, both physically and emotionally. She didn't want to pine over him, being that insipid type of girl who was pathetically fixated on her man, but she couldn't help it. She loved him. She loved him, and he might not be able to be with her, and that hurt.

Trying to steer her thoughts in a different direction, Rogue decided that she needed a distraction. She concluded that she should start packing – whatever happened, whatever his decision was, she knew she wouldn't be staying in New Orleans for much longer. When she was almost finished, a loud knock interrupted her haze. Instantly hoped welled up in Rogue's heart – could it be Remy? Had he picked her? A chastising voice sprung up in her head reminding her not to be that pathetic girl, but she didn't care. Rushing to the door, she flung it open, anticipation brimming inside of her.

After reluctantly leaving Rogue, Remy had made his way back to Guild headquarters, easily slipping past the heightened security. Luckily he had helped design the system, so no great deal of concentration was required for him to bypass it. If there had been, he undoubtedly would have set off the alarms in seconds; his mind was elsewhere. Specifically on the bind he found himself in, which was nothing new. Except now there was a whole new twist to factor in.

He had already been aware of the seriousness of his situation – he was stuck between a rock and a hard place, forced to choose between the good of the Guilds and his own happiness. Now the decision was all the more critical, because his happiness wasn't the only thing hanging in the balance - Rogue's was as well.

Just the mere thought of her name sent Remy's mind spiralling back in time a few hours, to passion they created together. He had slept with several women before, but that was just sex – plain and simple, with no deeper emotions feeding it other than lust and the need for distraction. That was Remy attempting to forget his troubles, trying to find something that he wasn't sure existed. It was nothing compared to what he had shared with Rogue; he could say with certainty that it was the first time he had truly made love, and nothing or nobody else would even come close to competing with that. He had found what he was looking for - her. He loved her. He had wanted nothing more than to tell her that, but was grateful she stopped him; it would be unfair to both of them to confess their love with the wedding still taking place, just waiting to drive an insurmountable barrier between them.

That stopped him cold. The wedding was still on. It had been foolish of him to go to Rogue's hotel room and initiate something that could never happen again, no matter how much they both wanted it to… No. Remy couldn't bring himself to regret his actions. He could never regret what happened; he would remember it forever, marriage or no marriage. He tried to shake those notions out of his head, he shouldn't be focusing on hypothetical situations. Now was time for decisiveness.

Knowing that Rogue wanted to say that she loved him too calmed Remy down some. The way his life had been heading, he figured it would simply be the final nail in his coffin to finally find somebody he loved that didn't love him back. Thankfully, that wasn't the case; he had seen the look in Rogue's eyes, and figured it must have been the same one that shone in his as well.

As he climbed into his room through the window, Remy let himself be swept away in his memories as he sat down on the sill. The reminiscences of his hands on her body, of her's all over his, of her sweet magnolia scent enveloping him… He felt as giddy as a shy little schoolboy with his first crush - which was surreal, since Remy had never been shy with his crushes. That was more Lapin's territory.

Remy was in love. He could barely believe it, he had to keep repeating it over and over again to himself. Maybe Valentine's Day wasn't so bad after all. Suddenly what he had just thought sunk in, and his feelings of elation quickly evaporated. It was Valentine's Day, his wedding day. He had realized that he was in love on his wedding day, and it wasn't with his wife-to-be. Now Remy was sure there was irony present, but he couldn't dwell on that right now. He had things to do.

He was startled into action with a knock on his door, and Tante Mattie shouting, "Remy, y' ready yet?"

Rapidly trying to throw off his trench coat and yesterday's clothes, he yelled back, "Not yet! Hol' on a few mo' minutes!"

To his horror, Mattie just opened the door instead and walked inside. The plump black woman raised an eyebrow and shook her head at Remy, who had his coat sliding off of one arm while trying to pull off his shirt with the other. The clacking sounds of her beaded hair slapping together only accentuated the "Tsk, tsk" that came out of her mouth as she clicked her tongue at him.

"Tante!" he exclaimed in surprise. "What if Remy wasn' decent?"

"Oh, hush up, chil'," she told him. "Y' can' pull one o'er on me, I know all yo' tricks. I know y' were jus' gettin' back."

"Y're right, jus' wen' out fo' a smoke," he quickly lied. "An' - "

"Don' lie t' me, Remy!" she interrupted, wagging a finger at him. "I can always tell. 'Member de 'Gumbo Incident'?"

Defeated, Remy plopped down on his bed in resignation. He didn't have time for this… "Fine, fine. Jus' got back, 'm ready fo' de lecture now."

"Oh? What lecture dat be?"

"De one where y' tell Remy off fo' goin' out on de eve o' his weddin', an' how Remy should be responsible now dat he'll be un mari (a husband), an' dat de weddin' be fo' de good o' de Guilds…"

Mattie just shook her head. "'M de Guild healer, Remy, not an elder. Ain't concerned wit' politics, I worry 'bout de people."

"Meanin'?"

"I helped raise y', ever since Jean-Luc brought y' in off de streets. I wan' y' t' be happy."

At this, Remy looked up at her hopefully. "Even if dat means not goin' t'rough wit' dis weddin'?"

"Oui. I know y' don' wanna marry Bella, tol' dat t' Jean-Luc from de beginnin'. He's jus' as entêté (stubborn) as y' sometimes."

"Phfft, already knew dat," he muttered.

She ignored his disdain and continued. "Jus' do what y' have t', chil'. I won' blame y' none. De ot'ers be angry at first, but I t'ink dey'll un'erstan' eventually."

Breaking into a genuine smile, Remy leapt up and hugged the one woman in his life that had been like a mother to him. "Merci, Tante Mattie. Y' don' know how 'portant dat be t' moi."

"Oui, I t'ink I do. Y' deserve t' be wit' de one y' really love. Ev'ryone does."

Those words caused him to pull back suddenly and give her a wary look. "Pardon? (Excuse me?)"

"Already tol' y', y' can' pull one o'er on me!" she chuckled. "I can tell. Tu es amoureux (You're in love)."

"Y' already know dat I don' love Belle," he told her, slightly confused.

"Oui, dat's not who 'm talkin' 'bout. Y' in love wit' de Rogue, aren' y'?" Mattie had to laugh at the look of astonishment Remy gave her.

"…Comment? (How?)" he sputtered.

"Jean-Luc tol' me 'bout everyt'in', 'bout how y' looked at her, an' he was suspicious. An' I can see dat somet'in's made y' happy, despite de weddin'. Y' got a glint in yo' eyes… I jus' put deux an' deux toget'er."

He could only gape at her feminine intuition. After a few seconds of no words emerging, he managed to spit out, "An' y' okay wit' dis?"

"Depends," she said sternly as she gave him a hard look. "Are y' in love wit' her?"

She would never let him get away with anything, but Remy couldn't help but give her a dreamy smile. "Oui. Oui, I love 'er." His only smile widened after saying it out loud for the first time – it seemed all the more authentic now.

At his admission, Mattie positively beamed at him. "Bien! (Good!) 'M happy fo' y' - y' two are good fo' each ot'er. Y' have a lot in common – dere's been lots o' pain in' yo' lives, but I know y' can make each ot'er happy."

He stared at her briefly before starting in realization. "Y' de one dat helped her, didn' y? When she ran t' N'Awlins?"

Her only answer to that was a knowing grin and a pat on the cheek. "Bonne chance (Good luck), Remy. I know dis is a difficult choice y' have t' make, but it be yo's, an' no one else's. Do what y' t'ink y' have t'. Go be wit' whoever y' wan' t' be wit' – 'cause y' wan' t', not 'cause y're forced t'."

Her advice dispensed, Mattie made her way out of the room and down the stairs. She had no doubt that Remy was now rapidly packing his things and would be sneaking off. Which left her with the deed of going to the church and breaking the news to both Guilds. She didn't mind – it would be better accepted coming from her. And at least this way Remy would be happy, and Belladonna wouldn't kill him when she found out that he left her.

Arriving at the church, she joined the guests already mingling outside on the lawn. Moving through the crowd, she found Jean-Luc and Henri near the fountain and went over to them.

"Mattie! 'Bout time y' got here, what took y' so long?" asked Jean-Luc.

"We had a nice little talk," she told him.

"Merde, tell me dat y' tol' him dis needed t' be done!"

"Tol' him t' follow son coeur (his heart)."

The Guild Master closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and very slowly said, "Please tell me dat doesn' mean what I t'ink it does."

"Don' t'ink dat matters, Papa," interjected a very surprised Henri. "'Cause looks like his coeur tol' him t' come t' de weddin'! Ain't dat him o'er dere?"

The trio turned and saw a familiar trench coated figure dash into the church.

"Incroyable! (Incredible!) I honestly didn' t'ink he'd show up!" exclaimed Henri.

"Neither did I," said Mattie, a disheartened and confused expression on her face.

Remy's family weren't the only ones that hadn't expected him to be sprinting into the cathedral, because Remy hadn't anticipated this particular turn of events either. After Mattie left, he had come to his decision. He had written a note explaining his actions and why he had to do what he was doing, hoping she would understand. Although he could also appreciate if she wouldn't be able to forgive him for it, after all they had been through. Remy left the mansion ready to deliver it, but was puzzled when he had found a note addressed to him first.

Now he was running up the stairs inside the church as if his life depended on it; in reality, two others' did. Bursting through the door leading to the roof, Remy froze. Normally his attention would be stay with the hairy, hulking man wearing animal furs, but that wasn't what made his heart stop. No, that was attributed to the two women that he had tightly bound in ropes and was dangling over the edge of the cathedral.


Next chapter – We've got a certain animalistic individual on a certain church roof with two certain female hostages, I wonder what will happen! This could end in tears… Or will it? Dun dun duhh.

And yes, if this seems familiar to you, that's cuz it is. Remy went through a fiasco like this in the comics, but rest assured, that's not necessarily what's gonna happen here – so don't think you know how it'll end! I took the basic concept for inspiration, but I'm tweaking it to fit my purposes. Wow, this little plot bunny's been bugging me forever, finally a chance to placate it!

SO! Tune in next time (hopefully a few days) to appease your twitchiness from this cliffhanger! Or should I call it a church-hanger?! Hey-O! a collective groan is heard Yeah, sorry about that. If I didn't scare you away with my horrible pun, please review! We beat 500, let's keep 'em coming!

Kisses,

ish