1 - Luck

At the reception…

Unease settled over Remy like a darkening shadow. He scanned the lingering party guests, searching each familiar face for any signs of the inevitable. Kitty and Piotr had slipped away almost immediately after the ceremony. He didn't blame them for wanting to be anywhere other than here. A few of the other guests had also already left the party, but the majority remained. They danced and dined and drank. Try as he might, Remy could not watch everyone at once. His eyes were going crossed trying to keep everyone in sight, so that he might see the threat coming before it arrived and once again blindsided him. While on the surface everything appeared to be going well, a small part of his brain needled him, expecting the other shoe drop. His fondest dreams were coming true. A life together with his Rogue. Too much happiness—too much perfection, too much of everything he had ever dreamed about—was now within his grasp.

From his calculations, he'd been happy for too long. Life had taught him that his happiness was always short lived. He couldn't trust these feelings of joy, because the moment he became comfortable, inevitably he would lose it all.

Remy had been separated from Rogue for too long. He needed to find her, to make certain she was all right. Sure, she could take care of herself, she could take on anyone here if she needed too. That wasn't why he needed her, rather he would feel better if he could not only see her, but to touch her, hold her, kiss her—to know that this was real and not simply a dream. Maybe the unease would disappear if he was by her side again.

After they had danced, somehow they'd once again been separated by the multitude of friends wanting to wish them well. While he appreciated the sentiments, he couldn't quite believe they were all genuine. He had heard the murmurs before the ceremony. They were nothing new. And, it wasn't like they were trying to be subtle. Bobby and Kurt didn't want to be on his 'team.' Not exactly surprising. Nor had they been the only ones whispering disparaging remarks about his suitability as Rogue's groom. But, Kurt's and Bobby's blatant disregard for him hurt more than the rest. After all, not only was Bobby her friend and Kurt her brother, the two men had been Rogue's choice to stand up with her during the ceremony.

If that wasn't enough to set him on edge, Mystique had been present. Unless she had shape-shifted again, she was one of the guests to have already departed. Her absence left Remy more wary than her presence had. At least when he knew where she was, he could keep an eye on her. Now, all he could do was suspect the worse.

Remy shook his head in an attempt to clear it. Earlier he had managed to ignore all those foreboding presentiments, but the longer nothing happened, the greater the sense of inevitable doom grew. He felt the weight of the remaining guests' stares press in on him from every side. They were watching him. Judging him. Waiting for him to screw up. He wasn't good enough for her, she deserved better. Someone was surely going to…

"Sugah, here ya are." Rogue came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She pressed her cheek against his back. A note of concern tinged her words.

With her presence, the spiral of dark thoughts paused—they didn't all together disappear, but they didn't sink any deeper. He turned to face his bride and wrapped his arms around her. Breathing in her sweet scent and feeling the beat of her heart, Remy found himself relaxing in her arms.

She returned the embrace. The tension with which she habitually held herself on guard, eased at his touch. Silently, they stayed like this for several moments, taking comfort in the tangible proof of the reality of the situation.

All too soon, the prickling sensation along the back of his neck warned him that they were being watched. Their private moment was becoming less private by the second as the eyes of every guest focused on the newlyweds and the couple once more became the center of attention. Rogue interlaced her fingers between his and tugged him away from the tent. "What do ya say we slip away for a few minutes? Bein' around so many people is exhaustin'."

"Certainly, mon coeur." He pressed a kiss to the back of her hand and followed her lead.

While she wore the inhibitor collar she was 'safe' from any accidental touch, but that didn't stop the presence of so many people from being overwhelming. As he well knew, Rogue wasn't particularly fond of crowds, and Remy couldn't say was overly fond of them either. They'd been the center of attention ever since he asked her to marry him and it hadn't let up for a moment. The pressure of being 'on' for that long was beginning to wear on them both. He wasn't certain how much longer they'd be required to stay before being allowed to leave the party. After all, his last wedding hadn't even made it to this point.

Rogue led him across the lawn and into the gardens where the neatly manicured landscape gave way to a wild assortment of flowers left to flourish on their own. As they walked, she removed her gloves, deliberately pulling them off finger by finger, first the left, then the right. Neatly pairing the gloves, she folded them in halves, then quarters. With less than half a moment of hesitation, Rogue held the folded rectangle out to her husband. Solemnly, Remy accepted the offering and slipped them into a pocket of his suit jacket. It was more than her gloves she was offering him—she was coming to him with her barriers stripped away. Over the years, her gloves had become symbolic of and synonymous with the protective distance she maintained between herself and the world. As she placed her hand in his, he squeezed it, marveling at the precious gift she gave him.

When they reached the secluded corner of the gardens where they could have a few minutes of privacy among the roses, she turned so they stood face to face. The lights on the inhibitor collar blinked, reminding him of the cost of their touch. Pain pulsed at her temples and pulled at the corners of her eyes. Yet, she didn't hesitate. She cupped his cheek with her bare hand. It was warm and soft and strong. He swallowed back the impulse to claim he wasn't worth the pain the inhibitor obviously caused her.

At last, she asked the question which had lingered in her eyes since she had come up behind him. "Sugah, what's wrong?"

He wanted to deny it. An easy lie balanced on the tip of his tongue. But, the moment the thought crossed his mind, he realized he wasn't going to start their marriage keeping things from her. They'd been down that road too many times and it wasn't a path he wanted to retrace again.

Remy found her free hand and ran his thumb over her knuckles. He had repeated this same gesture so many times, but rarely had he done so without a barrier between them. Finding strength in the solidity of her presence, he started with simplest of his fears to talk away. "I keep waitin' for somet'in' t' go horribly wrong. I dunno. Like maybe I'll wake up and find dat dis is all jus' a dream."

"Ah know the feelin'. The same thought's crossed my mind more than a few times." She studied him intently, taking in the shadows that haunted his eyes, the tight lines of his face, and the guarded way he held his posture. "But, Ah don' think that's the reason for your long face. What else is botherin' ya?"

Despite his resolve to be honest with her, he hesitated. A part of his brain feared that if he spoke his misgivings aloud they would be out there in the world and all the more likely to come true. Rogue met his haunted gaze and held it with such intensity that he couldn't look away. Her eyes shone bright with certainty.

"All right, here it is. Guess I keep expectin' Kurt or Mystique or someone t' break up our weddin'." Exhaling a shaky breath, Remy forced himself to push past the old fears and continue. He waved a hand in the direction of the party. "Most o' dem out dere, dey don' t'ink 'm good enough for you. What if dey're right? What if dey try to do somet'in' about it? T' protect you from makin' de biggest mistake o' your life. It wouldn' be de first time somet'in' like dat happened..."

Rogue pulled him in close and hugged him tight, like she was never going to let him go.

"First off, swamp rat, it doesn' matter what any of the others think—not Raven, not Kurt, nobody. Got it? All that matters is what Ah think. And marrying ya is not a mistake, so don' let that thought even cross your mind." Though her voice was slightly muffled because her head was pressed into the crook of his neck and shoulder, her sentiments were more than clear. She spoke with an utter conviction which radiated from the core of her entire being. Her breath was warm on his skin. "Ah love ya, Remy. Love ya with all mah heart. Don' think Ah haven' heard it all before. Ah have and it doesn' matter. They don' know ya like Ah do. Ah chose you and ya are mah man forever. Do ya understand?"

Speechless, he nodded.

Pulling back so she could see his face, Rogue continued. "As for Momma, Ah know she ain't to be trusted. She promised to behave herself today, though Ah suspect that at some point in the future she'll be up to her shenanigans again. But know this, Ah warned her that if she tries stirrin' up the pot again, she will have to deal with me and Ah won' be pullin' any punches. Despite everthin', Momma cares for me in her own twisted way and she ain't gonna risk me cuttin' her off."

"You'd do dat for me?" Remy struggled to comprehend what he was hearing.

"Of course sugah." She grinned. "And don' ya worry about Kurt. Ah set him straight before the ceremony. He knows that Ah won' hear him talkin' bad about mah man. And Ah will fight him if that's what it takes."

"An' second?" It was all Remy could do to keep from crying. When was the last time anyone had fought for him?

"And second. If any of them want to challenge ya, they will need to go through me first. No one is gonna banish ya this time Remy. Ah ain't gonna let that happen. You're mah husband and Ah will always fight for ya. Ah promise."

A weight lifted from Remy's shoulders at the thought of his Rogue defending him. It meant the world to him that she was willing to stand between him and her family. The disaster of his first wedding had never been far from his mind today. Belle hadn't made a move to stop Julian. She hadn't said a word in his defense. Course, Belle was an assassin and assassins solved their problems with blood. Still, she wasn't the only one there that day long ago who could have come to his denfense. All of them—kith and kin alike—had stood aside without lifting a finger or voicing a word of protest as he was banished from his home. With Rogue by his side, that would never happen again.

"T'anks, mon coeur." No words could capture the depth and breadth of his feelings for her.

A stray gust of wind caught at the hem of her borrowed veil causing the diaphanous fabric to blow in his direction. The free end draped over his face and caught in his hair.

"Hold still, sugah," Rogue laughed as she tried to contain the material without pulling the veil from her hair.

Remy grinned from behind the mess of fabric and laughed. His heart was lighter than it had been in ages. He was in love and he had finally found the courage to marry the love of his life. Looking at her through the veil was like viewing her through a soft, hazy filter. The setting sun cast a glowing halo around her. She was his angel.

Wrapping his hands around hers, he helped her contain the veil and laid it back in place behind her head. His fingers itched to pluck out the pins that held her careful updo in place. He restrained himself, instead pulling her close and kissing her cheek.

"None of that Cajun." Rogue's eyes sparked. There was mischief in her green eyes which shone brighter than the pinch of pain pulling at her temples. Tension ran along the corded muscles of her neck. Her fingers fluttered against the collar, as though trying to shift where it sat. "Ah ain't wearin' this collar for a peck on the cheek."

"Are you sayin' you want me t' kiss you?" He asked in the low, silky timbre he knew drove her wild.

She shivered and lifted her chin. Her lips parted in an open invitation. "That's exactly what Ah'm sayin'."

"Bien."

Remy dropped his chin, his warm breath caressed her lips as he slowly, tauntingly leaned in until their lips were mere millimeters apart. Rogue moved the remainder of the distance, peppering his lips with kisses sweet and deep. A fire as bright as all her passions ran through their kisses. Remy held her close and poured every ounce of his love and gratitude into the embrace.

When they broke apart, Rogue was panting and flushed. He grinned, she wasn't the only one short on breath. They were pressed as close together as they could be with the thought of public decency still in mind. "That what you lookin' for, mon coeur?"

"Oui," she murmured. She held out her bare hand. "Ah think we can make our escape now."

"But, what about dem?" He gestured at the reception still going strong. To his surprise, no one appeared to notice that the couple of honor was missing from the celebration.

"C'mon, swamp rat. If we slip out quietly, it'll still be a bit before they think to look for us." Rogue led the way through the gardens as stealthy as any thief he knew.

At the point where their route took them nearest the tent, Remy caught Ororo's eyes. She smiled and her eyes sparkled with a deep fondness for the newlywed couple.

"Thank you," Remy mouthed. He owed Stormy a debt of gratitude that could never be repaid.

Ororo nodded her head in understanding. With a discreet wave of her hand, she sent them on their way with her blessing.

"So, sugah, where are we goin'?" Rogue said with a spark of challenge.

"It's a surprise," he waggled his eyebrows in an exaggerated manner. "Trust me."

She squeezed his hand tight. "Ah do."

Hand in hand, Rogue and Gambit slipped away into the deepening night. He didn't know what the future might hold, but Remy knew that he was the luckiest man in the world. Rogue had stollen his heart when he wasn't looking and left him a thief with nothing left to steal. And he wouldn't have it any other way.