"I can't believe you actually managed to get me into this ridiculous thing."

"Oh stop complaining, this is something formal, so either way, you couldn't have worn your cut up jeans and that dirty shirt you always wear."

"That still doesn't mean I got to like it."

Rogue sighed, John was acting difficult again and she tried to ignore it as best as she could but sometimes the pyromaniac was so hard to satisfy. Trying to tie his tie while he kept squirming under her was hard enough as it was.

"Why did we even get invited to this shit?"

"Because it's family John, deal with it."

"They kicked you out for crying out loud, I wouldn't call them family after that," John pouted, scowling at Marie who was still trying to tie his tie under his squirming.

"They were afraid John, you can't blame them for that," Rogue whispered, clenching her teeth together, "and stand still will you? This is hard enough without you squirming."

"Leave it then, I can live without it, hell, I'll probably die with that thing on. You got to agree I look much better without it anyway."

"John," Marie looked up, glaring at him before she let her shoulder hang low and caved it, letting John take the loose tie from around his neck and open the two buttons from the top.

"Bloody hell I feel like a stuck up ass or something, thank god Erik can't see me in this outfit, he'd have the time of his life."

"Get over it John, we're going to this wedding whether you like it or not."

"I didn't even know you had a sister."

"Well don't look at me, I thought she forgot about me."

"Too bad she didn't, then we wouldn't have to be forced to come over here to go to that wedding and I wouldn't have to dress up like this."

"Behave now alright? I need to go and put my dress on, please don't burn anything."

"Not even the curtains?"

"Definitely, not the curtains," Rogue smiled at John before giving him a peck on the lips and disappearing in one of the other rooms where the young pyromanic was sure he heard a shrill scream coming from Marie's sister about her being so late and make-up. Rubbing his temple, John sat down in one of the chairs by the window and threw his head back, trying to understand why he hadn't run off yet to freedom.

"Hey, you're John right? Marie's boyfriend?"

"Fiancée actually," John muttered, not opening his eyes or looking up from where he was sitting to the person he was talking to.

"Sorry, she didn't tell me."

"S'alright," John yawned.

"So, excited about it?"

"About what?" John frowned, finally looking up and seeing one of Rogue's cousins standing in the doorway, staring at him with an interested look that Pyro would love to burn off his face but he had promised to Rogue that he would be a good boy so that was what he was going to be.

"Your own wedding of course!"

"If we have one, it's not going to be anything like this one, I'm already having a headache and it hasn't even started yet."

"You seem familiar," the man said after a few moments of silence between the two of them. John raised an eyebrow at the man and then wondered if he could still resemble the man he had been during his time in the Brotherhood with Marie. His hair was back to dark brown and longer, not spiked up but rather hanging around his face in a, unflattering way.

"I'm sure I'm not."

As excuse to Marie's parents, they both had made sure that John was a glorified journalist from Australia, while they actually lived in New York. It wasn't a complete lie, John was indeed a journalist for one or another newspaper but hell if he could remember the name of it. Marie on the other hand took on teaching at the Xavier institute while she told her parents that she was a photographer, also in Australia.

"Why do you two live so far away anyway?"

"Australia?"

"Yeah."

"Don't know, Marie says it's more sunny there but I've yet to find that part out," John threw his head back, trying to enjoy some rest before the whole event would start downstairs.

"You're not a warmth fan?"

"Are you kidding me? I love the warmth, it's in me!"

Marie's cousin, who John still had to remember the name from since he hadn't bothered asking or paying attention when he was being introduced, laughed uncomfortable for a moment before moving and sitting down in the chair across the one John was sitting in.

"You're a lucky man John, Marie is a great girl," the older man informed John.

"I know," Pyro answered, rather nonchalant.

"Take care of her or I'll come over to find you in Australia and smack a bitch."

"Oh I'm trembling," John rolled his eyes.

"I mean it John," the man said, not really liking the fact that Pyro was mocking him.

"I believe you," Pyro replied, still sounding like he didn't believe it but didn't want to anger the man right now, just to make sure he didn't get yelled at by Marie later.

"Listen John,-"

"To what? Your threats against me? Trust me, I heard all of them already so stop it before you start."

"You better know what you're doing, Marie, she's special."

"Special?"

"Ever wondered why she went to Australia in the first place when her dream destination was somewhere cold?"

John bit his lip for a moment, trying to stop the laughter from coming through as he kept listening to the cousin talking about them living in Australia.

"Because she hates the cold?"

"She ran away from home for some reason, I don't know but it had to be special for Marie to get away from her whole family just like that."

"I'm sure she has her reasons," John sighed, really wanting the conversation to end. Damn women and the time they took to get ready.

"I think you know why she went away."

"And you expect me to tell you? If I know that is," John raised an eyebrow, putting his hands in his pockets and playing with his zippo, trying to control his annoyance at the man and his urge to just burn his ear off or something, anything that could get him to realize that Pyro wanted to be alone.

"All I want is to warn you, you might not see it right now but ,-"

"Listen buddy, I don't know what you're talking about or anything, but I know every little detail about Marie, I'm not going to spill why she ran away from home, or moved to Australia of all places, I love her and she loves me, that's all you should know right now," John glared, trying not to burst out and burn something like those god awful curtains next to him.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch John, I'm not the bad guy here."

"No, the rest of the world just is," Pyro muttered, more to himself than to the man in front of him. Standing up, he moved towards the window and glared at the curtains before directing his brown eyes to the commotion downstairs, the tables, chairs and everything else needed for the wedding was being prepared in the garden, much to John's dismay who realized that it would only make it all harder for him and Marie to get away from the festivities as soon as possible before someone who was drunk enough to touch Marie when she wasn't expecting it and something might happen.

"John? Why are you still up here?" Rogue's voice came from the door frame, making John smile as he turned around, his hands still in his pockets as he watched his fiancée make her way over to him and place her hand on his chest, kissing his lips for a brief moment. She was dressed in a dark green dress that came until her knees and moved with her as she walked on the pair of black high heels on her feet. Her make-up was subtle, a line of eyeliner, a bit of mascara and some blush, that was all, Rogue had never been the one to put a lot of make-up on.

"Just talking with ... Josh over here, it is Josh right?"

"Jonathan, you were close," the man smirked.

John shrugged, "fair enough."

Jonathan smiled and patted John on the back on his way out, "don't mess up buddy, I'm a man of my word."

"I'll be expecting you then. Don't expect to win though."

"On the contrary John," Jonathan smirked before leaving the room, giving Rogue a peck on the cheek and one last look at John.

Rogue frowned and looked at John who turned back to the window to look outside, getting a bit worried about him, Rogue sighed and placed her hand on his shoulder, telling him to look at her without opening her mouth.

"You alright?"

"Can we go?" John asked in a silent voice, "I'm just afraid something will go wrong, I'm sorry."

"It's alright baby," Rogue kissed him on the lips as he took her in his arms and pressed her body close to his, "We'll go the moment the ceremony is over."

"I love you," John breathed out.