Jubilee had done the impossible and put together a modest wedding in just under three months. It was especially impressive given that Marie and Remy had decided to get married down south, so Jubilee had needed to coordinate with various people across state lines. But somehow, she had pulled it off, and created a magical, almost fairy tale-like atmosphere in the backyard of Marie's grandparents' house where the ceremony would be taking place in less than half an hour.

Everything in Marie's life since she had returned from New Orleans had been a bit of a whirlwind. Remy had stayed behind at first, which hadn't made either of them happy, but it had been necessary. There was some business that he had needed to take care of, mostly with his father, and Marie had needed to introduce the idea of her husband to the X-men. Bobby had gotten the whole story in private beforehand, because she had felt she owed him that, but everyone else had received an abbreviated version. It had gone surprisingly well, and when Remy arrived at the mansion, he had more or less slotted in seamlessly with the team.

But that didn't mean that things hadn't been hectic at first, or that it hadn't taken time for them both to settle into their new lives. Marie had overseen moving them both into a new apartment, which compared to what Remy had dealt with, had been a breeze. Poor Remy had needed to adjust to a new city, a new job, new responsibilities, and a new Guild. The first month had been the hardest, and the toll it had taken on him was visible at the end of every day. Despite that, however, his eyes had always lit up when he saw her. That was how Marie had known that they would be okay.

So when they had announced their intent to renew their vows, and Jubilee had offered to plan the wedding as predicted, they had gratefully, and enthusiastically handed the job over to her. It was one less thing for them both to think about.

There had only been three things that were non-negotiable—the location, the guest list, and the menu. All other creative choices had been left up to Jubilee, who had really out done herself, and had been busy directing the setup of chairs, carpets, and tables since yesterday afternoon. She was determined that everything would be perfect. Even the weather was cooperating, although Marie suspected that Jubilee might have had some help from Storm on that front.

Marie was in one of the upstairs guest rooms, standing in front of the antique, floor-length mirror adjusting the flowers in her hair one last time. People had been in and out of the room for the past hour or so, helping her get ready, and giving their opinions on her hair, make-up, and everything else imaginable. Just about the only person that she hadn't seen since the morning was Remy, but that was because Jubilee had banned him from the upstairs. She had even given Pete the official task of keeping an eye on him to make sure he complied.

There was a knock, and Marie half-expected it to be Remy despite his banishment.

"It's me, kid," Logan said, which probably meant that he had been sent to get her. Both he and Papaw would be walking her down the aisle because she hadn't wanted to choose between them.

She opened the door and let him in. "Is everyone here now?"

They had limited the wedding to mainly close friends and family, so they weren't expecting a huge crowd. Remy's family was there, as well as hers (minus Mama), Becca and her family, Thierry and the rest of the bar staff, and of course several of the X-men and Thieves had also been invited.

"We're still waiting on a couple more from our side," he replied. "Dunno about the rest, but I've been hiding out in the den for most of the morning."

"Jubilee finally hit a nerve, huh?"

Logan huffed. "Yeah. And then your grandmother ambushed me in the kitchen and offered to knit me a blanket. I didn't know how to turn her down."

Marie bit her lip to keep from laughing, and picked up her gloves off the dresser. "Lucky. Granny-Mae makes a mean afghan."

He frowned in confusion. "She asked me what my favorite colors were."

That, however, was too much and Marie laughed out loud. "What did you tell her?"

"I said black."

"Oof. Black yarn is hard to work with."

He nodded. "That's what she said when she talked me into gray instead."

"Well, at least it will match your couch." Marie slid the elbow-length gloves on. Strictly speaking, she didn't need them, but they looked pretty and would keep her arms warm.

Logan caught her eye in the mirror, and it looked like he wanted to say something else.

"What is it, sugar?" she asked, turning to face him.

"You want to know why I never gutted the Cajun?"

Oh lord, now was a great time for this talk. Marie's voice took on a hard edge as she answered him. "Because you trust my judgment?"

"That too," he replied. "But mostly it was because he thanked me for saving your life. I watched him that day in the church, before he knew I was there. He wasn't afraid to hold your hand, and it just looked like...I dunno. If shit had gone down, he would have done what he could to protect you. He does it in the Danger Room too. He always knows where you are, even in the middle of a fight. He really loves you."

Marie smiled. She didn't need Logan to tell her any of that. "I know he does."

"Plus, there's that." Logan pointed at her.

"What?"

"I'd never seen you smile like that before. You're happy."

"I am."

"It's a long way from when I first picked you up, that's all I'm saying. It's kinda hard to hate the guy after that."

It was probably as close to an approval as she would get.

"I still don't trust him though," Logan added.

That was on Remy. After a particularly rough training session, he had broken into Logan's apartment and replaced all of his beer with the non-alcoholic variety. He thought he was being funny; Logan had flipped out.

"You only say that because he's not intimidated by you."

"Exactly."

"Well, I appreciate you not poking holes in my husband on our wedding day."

"Mhmm. Tell him I said that he was on notice." As he was leaving, he said over his shoulder, "By the way, you might want to open that window. Let in some fresh air."

"Uh, sure," she said, though she had no immediate intention of doing so. She knew Logan was sensitive to smells, however, and her hair had been sprayed with several coats of hairspray, so maybe the scent bothered him.

It became clear what Logan had meant, moments later, when Marie heard a gentle tap on the aforementioned window. She whipped around, and saw her groom-to-be crouched on the porch roof on the other side of the glass. He grinned when he saw her.

Marie threw open the window, not at all amused. "What are you doing?!" she asked in an urgent, hushed tone. "You're not supposed to be up here! It's bad luck!" For someone who was so superstitious, Remy was sure tempting fate. And Jubilee's wrath.

He dismissed her concern with a wave of his hand as he climbed into the room. "We're already married, it doesn't count. And, I missed you."

"We saw each other at breakfast."

"That was hours ago," he said.

It wasn't until he pulled her into an embrace that she realized how much she needed it. One consequence of them being apart for so long was that it had been hard to get used to the fact that they were together again. If Marie woke up to an empty bed because Remy was out on a Guild job, it always took her a minute to remember that the past few months hadn't been a dream.

"I'm still here," she said softly.

"Can't fault a man for wanting to check." He released her from the hug, and rested his hands at her waist. "What did Logan want?"

"To give us his blessing. I think."

Remy nodded, sagely. "He must have found the whiskey I left him."

Marie's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Did you break into his apartment again?"

"Well, I wasn't going to leave that much liquor lying around in a school where anyone could take it. I'm a responsible teacher," he boasted.

"Uh-huh. And I suppose you took the new locks that he installed to keep you out as a personal challenge?"

"I assumed he did that for my amusement. I got a good laugh when I saw them."

"You're incorrigible," she told him.

"But you love me anyway."

"Always, Remy." How could she not? "Besides, as you pointed out, we're already married. And you blew up the divorce papers. I'm pretty sure that means I'm stuck with you."

"Any regrets?"

"None."

"Me neither."

Remy lifted his right hand, and she thought he was going to touch her cheek, but his fingers brushed over the silver, heart-shaped pendant that she wore around her neck instead. It contained a small amount of Matthieu's ashes. The rest, they had sprinkled into the river and let the current carry out to the Gulf.

Wherever Remy was, it was millions of miles away.

"What 's wrong?" she asked.

He shook his head, as if clearing his thoughts. "Just thinkin'. I used to hold the ashes and remember all of the bad things that happened. The pain." He tapped her necklace lightly with his fingertip. "They don't remind me of that anymore, and I'm glad."

"So am I," she whispered, feeling her eyes well up. "Damn it, you're going to make me cry, and then I'll look like Alice Cooper on our wedding day."

He chuckled softly and kissed her. "Then how about a distraction?"

"It depends on what kind," she replied. "If it's going to mess up my hair too, it'll have to wait."

"It wasn't going to be that kind, but if you're offering—"

"I'm not sneaking off with you until the reception." And she had just the hiding spot in mind. Though knowing Remy, he'd probably already scouted a few locations on his own. "We paid a lot for that photographer, and I want us to look nice."

Remy leaned in and whispered low in her ear. "I wouldn't mind having a picture of you, looking just a little mussed up after making love to me on our wedding day. It'd be like our little secret."

His words sent a delicious shiver down her spine, and had her almost rethinking her stance. Except there was no way that everyone else wouldn't be able to tell what they'd been up to. "Later," she emphasized. "Now, what's the real distraction?"

"Something you're going to like a lot less." Remy took both her hands in his, and said very solemnly, "I want you to know, ma chère, that I came up here first and foremost because I missed you."

"Okay..." she said slowly. Because that didn't sound ominous at all.

"But, I also have something that I need to tell you. I don't want you to be surprised as you're walking down the aisle."

She groaned. "Please don't tell me that gator came back."

Jubilee had nearly had a meltdown when they'd found it camped out in between the rows of folding chairs that morning. Something about blaming herself for planning an outdoor wedding and then failing to account for the local wildlife. But one phone call, and a few minutes later, a handful of Thieves had come over from Jean-Luc's adjacent property, and they successfully wrangled it back to the swampy area nearby.

Marie hadn't heard shouting, though, so it probably wasn't that.

"Nah, he's long gone," Remy confirmed. "But you remember that merc I told you about a while back? The one I paid off?"

"Yes..."

"He's here."

"What?" Of all of the things that could've gone wrong on their wedding day, that was not one that had been on her list. "You said there wasn't a bounty on your head anymore!"

"There isn't."

"Then—"

"Just come see."

Remy led Marie across the hall to her grandparents' bedroom, where there was a window that overlooked the back lawn. When they rounded the bed, Remy pulled up the shade.

Marie didn't even have to ask what she was supposed to be looking at because she spotted the anomaly almost immediately. On the groom's side of the aisle, in the back row, sat a man who was wearing a white tuxedo over what appeared to be a red and black bodysuit.

"He was offended that he didn't get an invitation, so he crashed the ceremony," Remy explained.

"Because you two are...friends now?"

"I wouldn't go that far, but Wade's not so bad once you get to know him."

As if he sensed that he was being watched, the merc looked up at the window and waved to them.

"Did he have to wear the mask?" she asked. It wasn't exactly inconspicuous.

"Absolument. Trust me, it's better this way."

"And the swords?"

"I don't think he goes anywhere without them."

Marie wasn't too worried what their guests would think. Most of them were used to the unusual. She had even broached the subject of mutants with Becca to prepare her in advance of the wedding that some of the guests might look a little different. No, what concerned her was that an armed man in a mask would be seen as a threat by one very particular, overly-protective mutant.

"You do realize that Logan's going to kill him, don't you?" she asked. "You might want to go warn your new BFF that he's about to become mincemeat."

But Remy didn't appear at all concerned. "No need," he replied, cheerfully. "When Wade saw that some of the X-men were here, he asked me, and I quote, if his old pal Wolvie-kins was here too."

Marie widened her eyes at Remy because he had to know that wasn't a good thing.

His gleeful expression confirmed that he did. "He heals exactly like Logan. Imagine how cool it would be to see them fight."

"Not while we're trying to get married!"

"No, of course not. After."

If they could wait until after the ceremony, then maybe they could also be convinced to take their fight to somewhere away from the house. Because heaven help the man who got blood on her dress or on any of the guests. She'd knock both of them out if she had to.

"Didn't want me to be surprised, huh?" she asked.

"Well, you or anyone who was walking you down the aisle..."

Marie shook her head and laughed. "If you weren't so charming, Swamp Rat, I swear—"

Remy raised his hands in front of him in defense. "I would've told Logan myself, but he'll take it better coming from you."

It was a valid point, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

"Fine, I'll tell him, but your friend had better not stage an attack as we're walking past him."

"He won't," Remy assured her. "Wade may be crazy and eccentric, but he's also a hopeless romantic who has been rooting for us to reunite since he found out I had a wife. He actually wants to meet you later. He said he got us a gift that he's dying to watch us open."

"Is it a bomb?" Because the merc definitely looked like the type who would hide explosives in a fancily-wrapped box.

"Probably not, but I have a bad feeling that it might be alive. He asked me if I liked cats earlier, and I didn't put two an' two together until just now."

Marie sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. A live animal wasn't much of an improvement. She didn't want to have to worry about a poor little cat being trapped in a box all throughout the ceremony and reception. And what if it escaped and got lost? "There's never a dull moment with you, is there?"

"It's probably just a cat-themed toaster," Remy said, though he didn't sound entirely convinced. "You know, one of those ones that toasts little pawprints onto the bread."

Which would be cute, if not impractical. They already had the exact number of required toasters at each of their residences—one. There was a reason why the invitations had asked for donations to a charity in lieu of gifts. But she supposed that if someone didn't get an invitation, they wouldn't know that. "Right."

Remy continued to stare down at the merc with a thoughtful look. "I'll take a peek before the ceremony starts. Cut out a few air holes if needed."

"Thank you, I'd feel much better if you did."

"If it is a cat—"

But his question was cut-off by the sound of someone bounding up the stairs. Marie gestured frantically, and Remy silently dropped to the floor next to the bed.

"Rogue?" Jubilee was across the hall, presumably looking for her in the other bedroom.

"I'm in here!"

There were more footsteps, and then Jubilee peered into the bedroom from the hall. "What are you doing in here?"

Marie pointed at the window. "I just wanted to see if everyone had arrived. Is it time to head down?"

Jubilee nodded. "Almost. We're just missing one critical component."

"Me?"

"Besides that. Listen, I don't want to alarm you, but I can't find Remy. Now, I'm not saying that he got cold feet, or was eaten by an alligator or something, but he managed to give Pete the slip, and now he's vanished. I thought he might be up here with you."

Marie shook her head. "Oh no, he took your warning very seriously. He's incredibly superstitious, that man. This is absolutely the last place he'd be." She had to resist the urge to glance down to the floor as she said it because she knew she'd break if she saw Remy's face.

Thankfully, Jubilee seemed to believe her. "I'll have to send Logan outside and see if he can sniff him out. He doesn't think I know that he's in the den trading war stories with your grandpa so that he can avoid me." She turned to leave.

"No, wait!" Marie stopped her. Logan going out to the backyard before she had a chance to warn him would be a disaster. "There's something really important that I need to tell Logan first. Can you ask him to come up here real quick before he goes outside?"

"But what about—"

"Did you ask Henri? I'm sure he knows where Remy is. Maybe he forgot something and had to run back over to Jean-Luc's."

"Maybe. All right. I'll send Logan up, and then go find Remy's brother."

"Thank you."

Remy got up after Jubilee left. "'Eaten by an alligator'?" he asked, sounding offended.

Marie shrugged as they walked back across the hall to the other bedroom.

"It's like the petite's never even seen me in the Danger Room."

"I'm just glad she didn't see you in here. Think how pissed she'd be that you're bringing bad luck upon her perfectly planned wedding. She'd probably feed you to the alligator herself."

"I already told you—"

"Yes, I know, it doesn't count. Now, how about you go find a way to sneak out to the backyard and pretend you've been there all along?"

He winked. "I never break in somewhere without making at least three plans for getting out."

That couldn't possibly be true, but Marie decided not to call him on it. She was glad that he'd snuck upstairs to see her.

Remy swung a leg out the window, but paused, straddling the windowsill. "Do I at least get a kiss goodbye?"

Marie leaned down and placed both palms on either side of his face. "This isn't goodbye, sugar," she said, and planted a kiss on his lips. "Next time you see me, we'll be getting married."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't see that," the voice from behind them said.

Logan, who had climbed the stairs much quieter than Jubilee, was in the doorway and had a large cardboard box with a white bow around it tucked under his arm.

"Aww, you shouldn't have," Remy said.

"I didn't," Logan replied flatly. "Hank found it sitting under a tree and brought it inside. It was meowing."

Marie raised an eyebrow at Remy. "That doesn't sound like a toaster."

In return, Remy gave her a hopeful look. He didn't even have to ask because his face was doing all the pleading for him.

"Yes, of course we can keep it," she told him. "Though heaven only knows how we're ever going to decide on a name."

"Oh, I'm sure there's someone around here that we can draw inspiration from." Remy glanced over at Logan. "What do you think? Little Logie has a nice ring to it."

Logan stalked across the room and thrust the box at Marie. "I think you'd better get a good headstart, Gumbo. Because Jubilee wants me to find you, and if I make it out back before you do, that's exactly what I'm going to do."

Remy dove out onto the porch roof, while Logan took off for the stairs.

Marie, who was left holding the box, untied the ribbon and looked inside. A tiny black cat, probably no more than a couple months old, sat inside on a red towel, and looked up at her with big, green eyes.

"Don't worry, I won't let him name you Logie."

Belatedly, Marie realized that she hadn't told Logan about the mercenary, and he was headed outside, right to where the guests were seated.

"Hold on," she told the kitten, and grabbed her phone off the bed so that she could call Storm. "Hi. I need you to prevent a murder for me. Possibly two."

After quickly explaining the situation, Marie sat on the bed with the box in her lap. Someone would come get her when they were ready to start. Something told her that it might be a few minutes. She could hear yelling, and that was never a good sign.

"Welcome to the family," she said, and stroked the fur behind the kitten's ear. "It gets crazy around here sometimes. Mostly 'cuz of Remy. But just between me and you, I don't really mind. Because the alternative means living without him, and I already tried that. It wasn't much of a life."

The kitten yawned, and it was possibly the most adorable thing ever. There was no doubt in her mind that Remy was going to absolutely spoil the little fuzzball rotten. She imagined all of the things that he would convince her that they needed. Like a giant, fancy cat tree and Saints-themed food bowls. It was already difficult to ignore his charm when he wanted to get his way, and with an equally-as-cute feline companion by his side, it was going to be impossible.

Marie sighed and gave the cat the same lecture she gave Remy when he moved into the mansion. "Just remember, in this house, we use our powers for good instead of evil. And if you could try not to get into too much trouble while you're here, I'd appreciate it."

The kitten made no acknowledgment that it had heard her, and instead flopped over and attacked the towel.

"Yeah, that was pretty much Remy's response too."

There was a square of white cardstock visible under the towel that had shifted. Marie pulled it out and read the note.

P.S. He eats normal cat food

"No kidding. What did he think we were going to feed you, dog food?" Maybe the note just meant that the kitten didn't need specially formulated kitten food.

She flipped the card over.

P.P.S No take-backsies

"Not sure I like the sound of that."

Underneath the second p.s. was a doodle of a cat with tentacles coming out of its mouth. One of those tentacles was wrapped around a trenchcoat-clad man with his arms in the air. It was obviously supposed to be Remy, if the speech bubble with "Mon Dieu!" pointed at him was any indicator.

"Cute." Marie dismissed the note and looked down at the kitten. "Was that merc mean to you? If you bit him, I wouldn't blame you."

It blinked up at her.

Outside, the wind picked up, and the curtains flapped. Then there was a loud thud on the roof, followed by footsteps overhead.

"Not again." Marie set the box on the bed and went over to the window, just as Remy dropped down onto the porch roof from above. "Storm?" she asked, fairly certain she already knew the answer.

Remy nodded and climbed back in. "I think it was her way of putting us in separate corners. And to be fair, she did warn us first." He looked down at his tux and adjusted whatever was out of place. "'Spose I got lucky—Wade's up in a tree, and she flung Logan all the way over to Jean-Luc's."

"Good. Y'all deserve it." Marie shut the window. She no longer cared about making Remy sneak out of the house. They were going to go downstairs together and then they were going to have a wedding before something went wrong.

"How's our little Toaster?" Remy asked as he walked toward the bed.

"We're not naming him that," she said. "And he's adorable."

Remy reached inside the box and scooped up the kitten. When he turned to her, he had a thousand-watt smile on his face and the kitten was pressed against his cheek. "We could call him Toasty."

The cuteness overload hit her at full force. "Ugh, I am in so much trouble," she muttered under her breath.

Remy laughed. "C'mon, let's go find a safe place to stash this little guy. I'm sure Logan will be back any minute now."

Marie picked the box up off the bed. She didn't like having to put the kitten back in there, but they didn't exactly have a pet carrier handy. Someone would have to run to the pet store later to pick up a few things.

"Are we sure he's a boy cat?" Remy held the cat in front of his face and looked him in the eyes.

"No, but I'm pretty sure you're examining the wrong end if you want to find out. I'm just going off what the note said." She nodded her chin in the direction of the card that was on the bedspread. "Also, I think he might be a biter."

Remy settled the kitten back in the box and then picked up the note. "Or not actually a kitten."

That statement, combined with the way his brows had raised when he read the back of the card, sent a small bolt of fear down her spine. "What do you mean? What else would he be?" Because he absolutely looked like a harmless little kitten and not a tentacle wielding monster to her.

"Don't know," Remy said with an unconcerned shrug, "But the universe is a big place, and Wade has a warped sense of humor." He took the box and then offered her his other hand. "Whatever he is though, I bet we're going to have a lot of fun finding out."

Sure, if neither of them got eaten in the process.

Marie took Remy's hand, and for a brief moment, when his fingers closed around hers, she could see the couple they had once been, the couple they were now, and the couple they would one day become. This life might not be the one that they had originally planned all those years ago when Remy had first proposed, but she had made peace with that. What mattered was that they were together now, and ready to face the adventures that awaited them next.