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Taunting Repartee

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Rogue lazily opened her eyes as she started to wake up. She found herself pressed up against Magneto's nude body: both of them covered by a warm white comforter. Slowly the events of the night before came back to her as she continued to wake up. It didn't take long before she felt the urge to jump out of the bed: it took all her will power to control herself.

'What the fuck was I thinking?' she asked herself, bewildered by her behavior, as she carefully inched away from Magneto's body. ''I cannot believe that I let myself do that with him…,' she thought disgusted once she was no longer touching Max in any way.

"Anna?" Magneto asked as he started to stir.

'Shit,' she thought to herself in anger as she turned away from him. She was not ready for him to be awake. She was not ready to deal with him. Maybe if she just pretended to be asleep he would leave her alone for a little while longer.

"Good morning," he said from behind her: she could hear the smile in his voice. She felt his hand in her hair. Before she could stop herself she moved another inch away from him swiftly; as though his touch would burn her. "Are you alright?" he asked. She could feel him moving on the bed; closer to her. Couldn't he take a hint?

"No," she replied bluntly as she got out of the bed. She realized instantly that she was still nude, and ran across the room to his dresser. Turning her back to him she pulled out one of his white button down shirts and put it on; she buttoned it quickly.

"Anna?" Magneto asked. She glanced up at the mirror on Magneto's dresser. She could clearly see Max sitting up on the bed behind her. Their eyes made contact through the mirror. He studied her facial expression for a moment as she unintentionally held her breath. "Regrets?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said with a nod.

"I am sorry that you feel that way. You understand, of course, that you did nothing wrong," he said before he threw the cover off of himself and stood up. Her eyes lingered over his nudity for a brief second before she opened the top draw of his dresser and grabbed a pair of boxers. "There was nothing immoral about what we did together," he said.

"Put those on," she said as she turned and threw the boxers at him. He caught them and did as she asked.

"Better?" he asked.

"Yeah," she nodded, "thanks," she muttered as she hugged herself.

"You're welcome," he said as he started to walk up to her. She felt the urge to move; to flee from him; but there was a look in his eyes that compelled her to remain still. "Anna, I cannot express one fact strongly enough," he said as he crossed the room. She felt extremely vulnerable standing there with nothing but a flimsy cotton shirt between Magneto and her bare skin; and for some reason that vulnerability brought a flush of color to her cheeks.

'What is wrong with me?' she asked herself as Magneto moved in front of her; pressing himself against her body slightly; trapping her between him and the dresser.

"You haven't done anything that would warrant feelings of guilt or shame," he stressed as he caressed her arms.

"Then why do I feel like this?" she asked.

"These feelings will pass, I promise," he said instead of answering her question. He leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"What if I don't want them to go away?" she asked quietly.

"What we did can never be undone, my girl" he whispered in her ear before he placed a light kiss on her neck. She felt a sharp shiver run down her back; she felt like a deer in the headlights.

"Only repeated," she muttered.

"I should hope so," he smiled against her neck as his hands moved to her hips. She gasped as he lifted her up to sit on the dresser. He slid his hand under the shirt; his fingers were slowly moving against her thigh. She felt his thumb press against her other thigh trying to pry them apart. She moved her hands to his arms.

"Stop," she exclaimed; her eyes closing. Thankfully, Magneto's fingers ceased their movements. She felt dizzy; like her head was spinning. She tilted forward leaning her head against Max's chest; waiting for the uneasy sensation to end.

A moment passed and she felt his hand in her hair massaging her scalp. She sighed; the massage was instantly relaxing. At least it was until she felt him kiss the top of her head.

"I said stop," she shouted as she took her head off of him. She closed her eyes letting the tears that had begun to form in her eyes run down her face. Couldn't they have just one conversation where he didn't try to seduce her?

"I keep asking myself 'what is wrong with me?'" she said.

"Nothi-"

"Because," she shouted. "I let you touch me and I-… and I like it… despite all these other feelings I have for you… But I don't think I'm asking the right question, Max," she said as she opened her eyes to glare at him.

"God, what's the first thing ya do after I tell ya that I regretted having sex with you?" she asked as tears ran down her face. "You try to get me to do it again," she bellowed. "I- I know what question I should be asking," she said bitterly. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" she shrieked.

"Anna," he started to say as he tried to place his hand on her arm.

"Don't touch me," she screamed as she pulled her arm away. She jumped off of the dresser and ran towards the door. She attempted to open it but he would not let the doorknob turn. Panic and rage consumed her. "Let me out," she screamed as she banged her fist against the door. "Let me out. Let me out. Let me out," she continued to scream; she could feel her throat become hoarse from her screeching.

And then she felt nothing…


Magneto watched Rogue scream, and thrash at the door for a few moments before he came to a decision. He reached his hand out calling on the iron running through her veins. He manipulated the trace amounts of iron in her blood causing her to lose conscious. He ran over to the girl as she fell unconscious; catching her. He gently lowered her to the ground.

'I pushed her too hard. Expected her to handle too much… Damn it,' he though in anger. 'And now what?' he asked himself frustrated as he lifted her up. 'I still have her trust… that is the most important aspect of our relationship and I do still possess it,' he thought as he carried her over to the bed.

'I must focus on the emergence now,' he thought as he laid her down on the bed.

'Working on the strategy, it should help her to find some sense of normalcy in our situation.' He sighed. 'Yes, she will become more comfortable working towards returning to the institute… away from me,' he lamented.

He stared down at his girl for a moment. His shirt barely covered any of her skin. Seeing her wearing it only made him want to rip it off of her and take her once again. He took a deep breath.

'I am not that type of monster,' he told himself before he reached down for the blanket to cover her body. He took another deep breath as he ran his hand through his hair. 'I need another cold shower,' he thought annoyed. 'And here I thought I was finally finished with those. I suppose that is what I deserve for being optimistic,' he thought as he made his way out of the room.


Rogue slowly opened her eyes and found that she was laying on the living room couch. She felt warm; she was wearing Magneto's red bath robe. It covered her completely. She glanced around as she began to fully wake up.

Max was sitting across from her in one of his arm chairs. He was fully clothed in his usual attire: white shirt, black pants. She noticed his hair was wet. He was leaning forward, his elbows resting on his thighs, his hands folded in front of him as he stared down at her. A coffee table was all that stood between them.

Her eyes immediately locked with his.

"If I wasn't-" she paused for a moment her voice still sounded hoarse.

"Anna," he said softly as he pointed to the tall glass of ice water on the table in front of her. She sat up: making sure to keep his robe closed. She leaned forward and took a much needed sip of water.

"Thanks," she said again.

"You're welcome," he replied again. She took another few sips until her throat didn't feel as sore as it had. She finished the glass before placing it back on the table. "Would you like more?" he asked.

"No, thank you," she muttered.

"What were you going to say?" he asked

"…If I wasn't still a captive than you would've let me leave the room and be angry at you for a while. But that's not what you did," she said her body was begin to shake; she suddenly felt like she was about to start crying again, or that she needed to break something. He stared back at her. "You ain't gonna deny it?" she asked.

"Why should I deny the truth?" he asked. Her eyes closed at his statement: tears running down her face. She was so tired of crying all the time. She just wanted…

"I am sor-"

"Don't apologize again," she yelled cutting his statement short. She took a deep breath: attempting to calm down. She didn't want him putting her to sleep again. "We both know what an apology from you is worth…"

"An-"

"I want you to promise to stop trying to seduce me," she said. She saw a look anger cross his face. She internally cringed at his expression. She took a deep breath. "I'm not saying that you can't touch me at all," she said tentatively. "Your arm around my shoulder or back… I don't mind. I actually really like it. It's just-" she paused for a moment as she looked away from him.


"Anna?" Magneto asked again. 'It's moments like these when I regret severing the link that allowed me to read your mind,' he thought. After a long moment she glanced back at him.

"Did- did you bring anything of mine here? Ya know, clothes?" she asked. He attempted to hide how surprise he was by the question.

"Everything you own is here," he told her without thinking. He watched her revolted expression: tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "We are going to destroy the institute in only a few days. I had your belongings brought here to save them from destruction," he explained smoothly.

He had ordered his teleportor, Amelia Voght, to transport all of Rogue belongings to this house while Rogue was in the shower the night before. Of course his girl never needed to know that he had made up his mind to relocate her and her belongings hours before he promised he would. The last thing he wanted was to drive her into yet another emotional tantrum.

"Oh… thanks. That was sweet of you… in a creepy way," she added. He smiled at that. "Where?" she asked.

"The second largest bedroom upstairs," he answered. She nodded.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," she said as she stood up.

"Anna," he started to say as he stood up.

"Max, please," she said. "I need a few minutes. I woke up this morning-"

"Afternoon," he corrected.

"Whatever," she said dismissively. "You really think I give a shit what time it was?" she asked. He couldn't help but smirk.

'It's nearly three now,' he thought to himself as he gave the clock a quick glance.

"I woke up this morning," she repeated without waiting for him to answer.

'Three?' he thought to himself vexed. 'Damn it,' he thought.

"And I didn't have time to think or anyt-" she started to say.

"Rogue," he said interrupting her. "We are postponing the emergence," he said.

"No, shit," she said.

"But I have yet to give any orders to postpone," he explained.

"What?" she exclaimed. "How could you forget something like that?" she yelled.

"I've been preoccupied," he retorted.

"Where is your phone?" she asked; her voice still elevated.

'…Where is my phone?' he asked. 'I gave it to-' he started to think.

"It's in your coat pocket," she answered for him.

"Thank you," he said used his abilities to take hold of the phone. 'That memory of your can be extremely useful at times,' he thought as he used his powers to bring the device to him. "You need time to think; is that what you would attempting to say?" he asked.

"Yes," she snapped as she folded her arms across her chest. While wearing his oversized robe the gesture look utterly ridiculous. He chuckled. "Shouldn't you be making a phone call?" she asked annoyed.

"Yes, yes I should be. Go shower," he ordered. He watched her eyes narrow. "If you would like to," he added to appease her. "Think. Make sense of your request while I handle this situation. We will talk after we have both completed our tasks," he finished. She nodded. He noticed her glance at the clock

"Three- thirty-two, huh? Was anything supposed to happen by now?" she asked as their eyes made contact. The importance of the situation evidently was causing her to put aside their personal issues.

'I should start staging little emergences ever time you become aggravated with me,' he thought amused as he went into his contacts. "Mystique should have joins the x-men and the brotherhood-"

"Into one team," she finished thoughtfully. He gazed up at her from his phone; he could practically see the wheels turning in her mind. "Have them keep running danger room sessions," she said as she looked at him again. He was caught off guard by the order. "The emergence ain't gonna happen until Jean locates Logan, right? If she's too busy being in or supervising sessions then nothing else happens yet. Problem solved" she elucidated.

'I hope, Anna, that your strategic abilities will never fail to impress me,' he thought with a smirk as he dialed Elisabeth Braddock's number.

"Call Jason Wyngarge first," Rogue exclaimed.

"Why?" he asked as he the phone ring in his ear.

"Logan," she said insistently. "He's supposed to fight the sentinel as soon as the fanatics wake him up. If you don't postpone that first than he's gonna spend the next few hours destroying Trask's only working sentinel," she explained panicked.

'The emergence will have to be postponed until another sentinel is functional,' he realized.

"Sir?" Magneto heard Elisabeth Braddock ask. He hung up the phone and speedily selected Jason Wyngarge's from his contacts.

"Hello?" One of Jason's daughter's asked. He was not sure which one it was; they both sounded alike to him.

"Ms. Wyngarge, put your father on the phone now," he commanded.

"It will just be a moment, sir," she replied.

"Max," Rogue said. He looked over at her. "I'm pretty sure that's everything we need to worry about. So, I'm gonna go shower," she informed him. "I'll see you in, like, a half hour," she said. He gave a quick nod.

It was as he watched her climb the staircase that he realized her commands were the only orders issued that he intended to follow since '…1963-64?' he asked himself. He found, strangely enough, that he didn't mind.


Rogue glanced at herself in the mirror; brushing her newly dried hair a few more times before she was satisfied with its appearance. While she was showering she had finally figured out what it was about their latest sexual encounters that bothered her so much.

'Now, I just have to explain it to him,' she thought with a sigh. She pulled at her black tank top; smoothing it out. Once again she considered putting on a long sleeve shirt. She shook her head at the thought. 'It ain't cold in here,' she told herself. 'Besides, you decided to trust him, remember? Well, what choice do I really have?' she asked herself resentfully. She let out another sigh before rolling her eyes. 'If I can trust him with my life then I should be able to trust him with this too... right?' she asked herself uncertain of the answer.

"Here goes everything," she muttered as she exited the bathroom.


"Max," he heard Rogue calling his name. "Max!" He marveled for a moment at how quickly he had become accustomed to be addressed by his given name.

"I'm in the kitchen," he called out from where he was standing. He was currently standing in front of the one of the counters putting the finishing touches on their lunch.

"What?" Rogue called out. He used his powers to open the door.

"Kitchen," he shouted before turning back to his preparations. A few moments later he heard footsteps behind him.

"Your house is way too big," she said. "A girl could get lost trying to find her way." He smiled.

"It's more plausible that I'll lose my way in this house before you will," he pointed out. Although he had altered his fragment's memories; her recall of the structure of his house was still accurate. Even though this was her first time in Jericho she knew his home better than he did.

"That's only cause I have a mental genetic advantage over you," she said. He chuckled.

"Mental genetic advantage," he quoted. "I'm going to have to remember that one," he said with a smile.

"You should write it down," she teased. He laughed as out of the corner of his eye he watch her walk cross the kitchen. "Sandwiches?" she asked with a smile as she walked up to him.

"Hungry?" he asked. He wasn't sure where this change in her attitude had come from but he was greatly enjoying it.

"I'm starving," she exclaimed. "Which one's mine?" she asked before licking her lips.

"The one without tomato," he said before handing her one of the plates.

"Thanks," she said as she walked over to the table with her plate.

"Please, help yourself to the iced tea," he said as he came to the table. He had already placed the pitcher and glasses filled with ice on the table; all he had yet to do was pour. He watched her take her first bite. A soft smile graced her face. He took hold of the pitcher and poured them both some iced tea. He watched her peer up at him.

"How'd the phone calls go? Everything okay?" she asked before taking her second bite.

"Everyone is under control," he informed her. He watched her facial expression; attempting to gauge her emotional response to his answer. She blinked and took another bite of her sandwich. He then took his first bite. 'What is going on in that head of yours, Anna?' he asked.

They proceeded to eat in silence. It wasn't an uneasy silence.

'On the contrary, it's been rather comfortable. Much like the latter half of our car ride was yesterday,' he thought as he took his last bite. He watched her stand up; bringing her plate and glass to the sink. He was surprised when she turned on the water and picked up the sponge. "You do not have to do that," he told her as he stood up.

"They ain't gonna wash themselves," she replied. He brought his plate and glass to the sink.

"You're an excellent house guest. Thank you," he said with a smile.

"We both know I ain't a guest," she said as she dropped both the objects she holding back into the sink. Was that bitterness he heard in her tone?

"Anna?" he asked concerned as he placed his hand on her shoulder. He was shocked when she turned and hugged him. "Are you alright?" he asked as he returned the hug. She titled her head up to gaze at him.

"We need to talk. I wanted to the moment I came downstairs, but you made food so I waited," she explained.

"We could have eaten after that conversation. All you would have had to do was ask," he said soothingly.

"I was hungry too," she said with a smile. "Let's go in the living room, okay?" she asked. He nodded before following her into that room. "Would you sit on the couch, please?" she asked. It was simple request he not mind following.

She surprised him yet again when she moved to straddle his lap. Putting her arms around his neck; she pulled herself closer to his as she kissed him.

'An interesting conversational starter,' he thought lustfully as he placed one of his hands on her back, and his other in her hair. Her body felt so tense against his.

After a moment she broke the kiss. As she pulled back slightly he could see her flushed face.

"Do you know why I did that? Do ya understand why I'm sitting on your lap right now?" she asked.

"No, my girl, I haven't the slightest inkling," he replied honestly.

"To prove an ideological point," she said reusing his words. He smiled.

"I'm listening," he said.

"Do you know why I was sitting on your lap in your office yesterday?" she asked. He raised an eyebrow. "Because you pulled me onto your lap and you wouldn't let me get up" she said. "Do you know why I was on your lap in my bedroom? That day everyone was playing baseball. Both times?"

"Because I forced you to sit there and I would not allow you to stand," he answered.

"In the café?" she asked.

"The same reason," he answered.

"Now?" she asked.

"I do not know," he said.

"Because I'm choosing to. I ain't being forced or manipulated into something I'm not sure I want to do. I want to touch you. That's why I'm doing this but- … I do get it. I can't leave this house until you let me but- … Max, what's your definition of rape?" she asked. He took a deep breath.

'This should be interesting,' he thought. "Do you have one?" he asked. She nodded. "Then I would like to hear it," he said.

"…Forced intimacy," she said.

'Taking the only action I am truly against and redefining it to suit your needs; that's my girl,' he thought impressed as he leaned in and kissed her again.

"I know that you can keep me here as long as you want. I know that you control everything; that you can control me. But whatever it is that this is between us; it won't work if you control me too," she said.

"You are referring to our physical contact?" he asked.

"I'm referring to anything intimate between us," she said. "When it comes to that I can't feel threatened. Like you're gonna get mad at me if I say no. If this is ever gonna work we have to have different rules for this. Please tell me you understand that," she said; he could hear the desperation in her voice.

"Yes, of course, I do," he told her. He could instantly see the relief on her face. Her body relaxed somewhat against his; some of her tension had dissipated. "When it comes to this we must be equals," he surmised.

"Are you okay with that?" she asked.

'If you were not returning to the institute; if you were willing to remain by my side; then yes, I would be,' he thought to her future self. 'We would be equals in every sense. I would have no qualms with having a partner.'

"Max?" she asked.

"Alright, I give you my word that I will not attempt to seduce you. I will not touch you in an overtly sexual matter unless you clearly initiate such an interaction," he said.

"That's not what I meant," she said. He looked at her dubiously. "You can initiate these things too. You can pull me onto your lap, but if I try to get up or I say not now you have to listen and not get angry at me for not wanting to touch you. It's works both ways. If I'm sitting on you and you get a phone call or something and you ask me to get up I have to get up," she said.

"Neither of us should feel forced into a sexual encounter," he conclusion.

"Or while talking, if I need a break from you," she started to say; he felt a surge of anger at her statement. "Like that," she said as she stood up off of him. "I say one thing that you don't like and you look like you want to kill me. If our relationship is gonna work than I can't be afraid of you," she said.

That brought a question to mind.

"Do you want our relationship to be successful?" he asked.

"I don't- …I don't know," she said as she turned to look down at him. "But you do?" she asked.

'Of course I do,' he thought to himself. "I believe I have made my feeling for you painfully evident."

"Well, that's what matters," she said with a shrug.

'Fair enough,' he thought.

"…We really don't have time to go this a million times. You know what we should both be thinking about," she said as she sat down next to him.

"The emergence," he finished. She nodded as she glanced up at him. He moved his hand to her cheek before he kissed her. "We will talk more about us in a few days then," he said.

"Okay," she said. He smiled at her. He was not displeased with this development.

"Let's get to work," he said.


So that's it for this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please review! Pretty pretty please! It's been four months since I updated and considering how much time I spend obsessing over this fic (I spent the last week working relentlessly on the fic. I have over ten pages in drafts) I want to know if people are still reading and enjoying it. So, please review!

Just a quick, "I still care about it! Please keep writing," or even "hi," would be GREATLY appreciated!

Meow114: It's all part of a much larger strategy, I promise! I'm with you; I would control from the shadows (which is in a way is what he is doing) but when I decided to make this fic super long I also decided to work within the parameters of the show. So, I had to plan Magneto's larger strategy around the events of the show: him revealing mutants to the world, Wanda hating him, Apocalypse, etc.

Anyway! Here's the new chapter. I hope that you enjoyed it! Sorry, it took me so long! I finally have a computer of my own again so I'll be able to update more frequently. I really hope to hear from you again. ^.^

Raven34link: ^.^ Thanks for the review! Here's hoping they do it again!

Lady Avotil: Thank you! I hope you will find all the answers you seek from my fic in the months and chapters to come!

BasiaM82: Thank you! There's nothing an author loves more than being told they're good at writing their OTP! I really hope that you've enjoyed this new chapter! I hope to get another review from you ^.^

Inked Phoenix: Here is MORE! Thanks for the review! I hope you've enjoyed the new chapter

Lost O'Fallen Girl: Yes, I'm continuing it! Wow… you read it all in one day; Operation Repartee too? Either way that's a lot of time to spend with your eyes glued to the computer monitor! I'm glad that you're enjoying it and I hope to hear from you again ^.^

Thank you to everyone who is reading!