revised edition
Chapter 7, "End of the Road" (final chapter)
Erik Lensherr ran his hand over the smoothly finished wall, his icy blue eyes taking in the now completed work that he had hired Rogue to do for him over 8 months ago. She had done better work than he had thought she would once he allowed her to see her friends every so often. He had been surprised that she hadn't wanted to see the Cajun every time. But then again, he reminded himself, she hated being touched too often period, and that was a feeling the collar only amplified.
It was time for him to pay her for her work, and truth be told, he knew he would miss her. During her time on Asteroid M, he had once again realized how much he respected her. Their friendship, he hoped, had been cemented. That was something he knew would drive Charles crazy trying to understand, but he couldn't make everyone happy. Turning to a guard, he let his hand slide off of the wall and to his side.
"Bring Rogue to my office. Tell her it is time for her to recieve her payment."
Rogue looked up from the book she was reading when the door opened. She had grown accustomed to it by now, and even welcomed it opening from the outside only. When it was a guard who stepped into the room, she was a bit surprised, for Magneto had been coming to get her himself for months now.
"Lord Magneto wishes to see you."
"What 'bout?" Rogue tilted her head.
"He said it was time for you to recieve your payment."
Rogue was surprised. She had thought Erik would forget about that since he had the X-men, and her captured so-to-speak. "Um...Alraght." She stood, leaving the book where it lay as she followed the guard down to Magneto's main office.
The guard opened the door, then left her alone to face Magneto.
*Come on gal...you've been talkin' t' him since ya got heah. This time ain't no different. Well... yeah it is...He wants t' pay ya fo' ya work heah. Damn. Ah nevah been nervous around him before, now Ah am. That's life for ya Ah guess. Well dang it gal, get in theah.*
"Are you going to enter or not Rogue?"
Magneto's voice brought her out of her thoughts and back to the real world once more.
"Oh, sorry. Ah got lost in thought for a sec." She averted her gaze from his strong form and almost ' icy gaze.
"Its alright Rogue. Now, please, take a seat." A chair slid out for her (A/N: Think X-men the Movie) with a simple gesture as Magneto took a seat himself.
"Th' guard said ya wanted t' give me mah payment." She took the seat, and looked at him expectantly.
He nodded and pulled a book out, sliding it towards her. It was one of Destiny's 13 diaries.
Rogue tilted her head as she lifted the book and ran her gloved fingers over the book. Her green-gaze turned up to look him in the eye. "Where did ya get this? An' why are ya givin' it t' me?"
Erik met her gaze evenly as he spoke. "It doesn't matter where I got it Rogue. As for why are you recieving it, that has the answers to atleast one of your prayers within." He stood and walked around the desk to stand in front of her chair. "When Destiny wrote those diaries, she wrote the most possible future in them, as I'm sure you know." A nod from Rogue.
"What does all this have t' do with me Erik? Th' only thang Ah evah wanted was t' control mah powers. But how could Destiny know th' ansah t' that?"
"Take a look at the marked page Rogue."
Curious, Rogue turned to the page held with an older bookmark. As her green eyes read some of the words, her jaw dropped open. What Erik had said was true. Destiny had answered her prayers. There on the page was the key to control for her. Silently sending up a thank you to Destiny, Rogue turned her gaze to Erik as a smile fell across her lips. Setting the book in the chair as she stood up, she threw her arms around Magneto in a tight hug, whispering a thank you to him as well.
Her move surprised Magneto, but he hugged her back just as tight. "No Rogue, thank you"
She pulled back as her gaze turned quizzical. "Why are you thankin' me?"
"You trusted me. That means more than you know."
"No sugah..." She smiled, now on the recieving end of a quizzical glance herself. "We trusted eachothah."
- Later that evening at the X-mansion -
"So all you truely had to do was help him?"
"Yeah. He needed mah supah-strength, an' so he was jus' gonna come down heah, ask me and then leave with or without me..."
"But then we attacked him..." Scott sighed. "Seems we got ourselves in unnecessary trouble."
Rogue laughed. "Scott, sugah, ain't that part of the job description?"
That got a laugh out of all of the team.
"Yes, Rogue, I suppose it is..." Scott looked at her, then asked the question all the X-men wanted to know. "But Rogue, why did you help him? You could've broken us out of there. I know you."
Rogue sighed heavily, then met the gazes of her friends, her family. "Because he needed a friend."
The others looked at her in surprise. "Pardone-moi chere, but don' he got 'nough friends up dere?" Remy asked.
"Sugah...we've all got somethin' he don't any more..."
"Like what?"
"True friends...a family. Ah dunno 'bout ya'll, but t' me...th' X-men ain't just a team. We're a family... th' only one Ah've got. But Erik ain't that lucky. His team is just that...a team. Nothin' more. He still consindahs the prof his friend, but 'corrdin' t' him, due t' differences in views, they ain't evah gonna go back t' th' way they use t' be. No offense proffessah, but your dream ain't really mine. Its yours. Ah just help ya fight for it because Ah believe in it. But it still ain't mah dream. Erik...Magneto needs people he can count on jus' lahke everyone else. Ah gave him that while Ah was there. An' Ah don' plan on turnin mah back on him. He helped me where ya'll couldn't. An' for that Ah'll always be grateful."
-end- A/N: Hope you all liked this. It took me long enough to round up my muse, but I did it. :) If you want a sequal, you're going to have to wait a bit. I'd like to finish up "Learning to Live Again" before I start up any more stories. But hey, give me some ideas and I'll get to work on a sequal maybe. Thanks for reading! Now leave me a nice review hmm? Make my day!