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Chapter Ten of
A Simple Favor:
On March 10th, 2002, around 7:15 pm Rogue sat next to Magneto on a couch in his study as she held his hand in her own. She had watched the conversation Magneto had had with himself. And then she watched it again and then she'd watched it a third time. And still, she was processing.
She took a deep breath as she released his hand. Having his powers was- she could leave, she knew she could leave if she wanted to. Though she wasn't actually ready to do that yet. If she made it home while dinner was being served, the Professor would just use the opportunity to interrogate her about her friend Max and she was way too exhausted to deal with that conversation. Better to put it off till morning.
She did want to go back. She knew that. Kurt, Logan, and Scott were all with the X-Men. Kitty was annoying but in an endearing kind of way. She valued her relationships there and she wasn't ready to give all those up. Magneto wasn't exactly asking that of her, but he wouldn't've said no if she said that was what she wanted. But the option was, well- sort of hanging there. Both of them were now aware of his desires and it was up to her to comment on it. Which she decided wasn't happening anytime soon.
Plus, if she did leave the X-Men, she had a feeling the Professor would take off the kid's gloves and make a more heavy-handed attempt to enter her mind. That was- god, how many times was she going to be lied to? First her mother and now the Professor. Max had almost-
"Ya know," she said, turning her head to look up at him. "I think you owe me another favor for putting up with being kidnapped," she said.
"Agreed," he said immediately without a hint of protest. "And you have my sincerest apologies for my lapse in judgment," he said.
"Ya know what bothers me the most?" she asked, as she felt him tense up next to her. "The Professor didn't even ask me about it. After the mission, he didn't come up and say, 'hey, Rogue, great job finding Magneto. Anything else you might wanna talk about?'" she asked mockingly as she felt him relax again. "I would've said no," she said as he leaned back fully on the couch and brought his arm up to rest behind her head. "But he didn't even try. He just chose to invade my mind. Every single night, for a month," she said, disgustedly. She listened to him let out a huff, but he didn't comment further. "Thank you for the apology," she said.
"You're welcome," he replied before she cocked her head to the side and grinned up at him. "What?" he asked.
"You seriously just got lectured by yourself," she said.
"Yes, I'm aware," he said deadpanned before she began to laugh. "At least one of us finds this amusing," he commented dryly.
"Well, in the future," she said, sitting up slightly as she leaned into him, "don't be such a putz," she teased as she elbowed him in the side. He chuckled as his arm slipped down and around her shoulder. She felt her heart speeding up a bit at the contact but was determined not to let it-
"Should I take you home?" he asked, as she could feel his eyes on her and his breath on her cheek.
"Not yet," she sighed before she took a breath. "Curfew ain't till nine-thirty and I'm kinda avoiding dinner," she said.
"The meal itself or Charles?" he asked.
"Prof," she answered.
"Understandable," he said, his thumb rubbing against her shoulder in a circular motion. "Are you hungry?" he asked.
"K-Kinda," she said breathlessly. She shook her head at herself. "No, not really," she answered honestly. Despite her better judgment, she tilted her head up to look at him. "You?" she asked.
"I shouldn't be," he uttered as he held her gaze.
"Hmm," she said nervously as her eyes widened and she felt her heart skip a beat.
"In fact, I've been advised against it," he said.
"Yeah," she laughed nervously as she reached up and brushed some of her hair behind her ear. "That's the thing about advice, I guess. It's real easy to give. But pretty hard to follow," she said as he chuckled in response. "Ya know, when you really wanna do something," she said, her eyes glancing down at his lips. "And ya know it's a bad idea, but you still wanna," she said, looking up at him.
"Indeed," he said, his hand gripping her shoulder now, rather tightly. She gasped, it was- this was the first real indication she had that she might be affecting him as he was clearly affecting her. "Timing also should be taken into account. The right action taken at the wrong time could inadvertently sabotage any future attempts of said action," he said.
"Yeah," she said as she fought the urge to lean into him. He was already so close and he really did smell good. "You're right," she said. "I know you're right," she said, looking away from him.
"However, I'll leave this decision to, my girl," he said as she felt his fingers take hold of her chin. She felt the slightest pull of her power, absorbing more of his energy and it- The shock she felt made her whole body shiver, shifting her forward and inadvertently pressing her up against him further, as he lifted her chin to meet his gaze. "What would you like to do?" he asked.
"You got any movies?" she asked suddenly. She felt her heart beating so fast as she recognized the fact, they didn't have time for a movie, but she had asked and now he would have to answer her and- Talking, talking was good.
"No," he said, releasing her chin as he pulled his head back a bit. "But Pyro or Gambit might," he added.
"Hmm, it probably ain't a good idea to tell any of your people I'm here," she said.
"Probably not," he agreed. "I have an abundance of books if you're interested," he said.
"Got any Shakespeare?" she asked.
"The Merchant of Venice," he answered before she snorted in response.
"Yeah, figures," she smiled as he chuckled. "Anything a little less depressing?" she asked.
"But it's a comedy," he said, a knowing smirk on his face.
"No, it ain't," she said dryly.
"Shakespeare called it as such," he commented.
"Shakespeare's wrong," she said.
"And yet you still wish to read one of his works," he teased.
"Come on," she laughed. "What else you got?"
"Alright," he chuckled. "I'm fairly certain I have a copy of Hamlet around here somewhere," he smirked.
"Oh my god," she exclaimed while laughing, as she leaned into him, her head resting on his chest for a moment.
"What else?" he asked, undeterred, as he held her to him. "Othello, King Lear," he listed as she continued to laugh against his chest. "The Count of Monte Cristo," he added.
"That ain't even Shakespeare," she said, lifting her head to look at him as he chuckled softly. "And I haven't read it," she said.
"Really?" he asked.
"It's about revenge, ain't it?" she asked.
"Obviously," he smirked before she laughed again. "You can borrow it, if you like," he offered.
"Nah, I'll grab a copy from the library. The last thing either of us needs is Logan asking why I have a book that smells like you," she commented before both of their eyes widened with recognition.
"I have to shower," she said as he said, "You have to shower."
"I don't have anything with me," she said as they both stood, breaking apart.
"Tell me the products you use," he said as he walked over to his desk and pulled out a pad and pen. "I'll retrieve them while you use the facilities," he said as he walked back over to her.
"Okay," she said as she took them and put the pen to the pad.
God, how had he flown all the way here with her pressed up against him without realizing he would need to correct the impact his scent would-
'You have gotta be kidding me,' she thought as it dawned on her. "Hmm, sir, when exactly did you decide you weren't taking me back to the institute?" she asked tentatively. She watched him straighten his posture, caught off guard by the question.
"It no longer matters," he said, in an attempt to bypass the question.
"It matters to me," she told him.
"Alright," he relented, instantly. "The thought crossed my mind when I chose not to take you out in public, but I hadn't decided until we arrived here," he finished.
"And that's why you didn't think about-"
"Yes," he said. "Once again, I apologize for my lapse in judgment. It will not happen again," he said.
"You promise?" she asked, looking up at him. She watched him thinking about her request.
"You have my word," he said a moment later. "I will never take you to a location with the intent of holding you there against your will," he elaborated. "I cannot apologize enough about what happened here today. Charles got under my skin. It's not an excuse, mind you. But a reminder for myself to do better in the future," he said.
"Okay," she said letting out a sigh of relief. He had- he'd promised more than he had to. It was- "Thank you, sir," she said.
"Rogue, of course," he said. "Like it or not, we're stuck with one another," he said.
"I ain't really sure if I mind," she shrugged.
"I feel much the same," he said before she smiled up at him.
"Okay," she sighed happily. "But I really need to make it home in time for curfew," she said.
"Understood," he said before he gestured behind her, she knew towards his bathroom. She nodded at him and they set themselves to task.
On March 10th, at 9:25 pm, Magneto pulled up to the gates of the Xavier Institute. He scanned forward with his senses and knew that Charles was waiting in the hall outside the main lobby.
Not ideal.
He was attempting to ascertain which would be less suspicious. Telling Charles he had only been in town a few days and disappearing from Rogue's life for several months or making plans to see her again fairly soon.
Charles must already be suspicious. How could he not be? The fact that Max Eisenhardt was from Germany now was- He had berated himself the entire ride here. How could he not have considered that Charles would attempt to read her mind sooner? At least his counterpart had the situation well in hand. Still- Perhaps, he had been in shock himself?
It hardly mattered now. They simply had to deal with it, together, as they had decided. And a trip to Siebra was in order.
"Rogue," he said as the gates opened for them. "Should we schedule another meal together or perhaps-"
"Ya know, I've been thinking about it, and no. I think it's better if you were only visiting. It lines up better with what I've told everyone," she said.
"Very well," he said as he pulled through the gates. "It's settled then," he said.
"I don't- I don't sense Logan," she pointed out. He scanned the area as he drove them down toward the mansion. All he felt was that Charles was on the move, heading towards the main lobby.
"Neither do I," he said, tapping his thumb against the steering wheel.
"Guess, I didn't need to shower after all," she sighed.
"Had we returned you sooner that might have been the case. Always better to air on the side of caution," he said as he pulled up to the front entrance.
"Yes, sir," she muttered as he stopped the car. He turned to look at her and she looked at him. "You should get out of here," she said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
"In a moment," he said as his glance turned to Charles as he came into view in the lobby. He pressed the button on his door's console and the passenger's window rolled down.
"I don't know what ya think you're gonna accomplish by talking to him," she whispered.
"I intend to gauge the situation while I have this opportunity," he said.
"It's a bad idea," she whispered before Charles joined them outside.
"Rogue, cutting it rather close, aren't we?" Charles asked as Rogue opened the car door.
"I didn't mean to," she said as she exited the vehicle. "It just kinda happened," she said as she closed the door behind her. "I ain't late so I shouldn't be in trouble or anything," she said.
"While technically correct," Charles started to say.
"The fault is entirely mine," Magneto interrupted, adding his German accent.
"Is that so?" Charles asked with a raised eyebrow, his hand neatly folded in his lap. "Well, you're home now and no real harm has been done. Why don't you run up to bed, Rogue? I think I'd like a word with your friend, should he be willing to indulge me," he said as he, in but a moment, had dismissed the girl, and turned his attention solely on him.
"Good night," Rogue said to them both, giving him a short wave before she heeded her Professor and headed inside.
And then it was just him and Charles.
"Could I tempt you with a cup of tea, perhaps?" Charles asked pleasantly. "I have an excellent Earl Grey on hand. A gift from an old friend I've been told is quite delectable."
"Such generous hospitality," he said, fixing each word with an adequate accent, as he contemplated how to answer.
"It's my pleasure and if we're to see more of you, Max Eisenhardt, I'd like to get to know you better, should you permit me," he said.
"Well-"
"Then again," Charles said, cutting him off, "With your skillset, you could very well be present in any room and I would have no idea, would I?" he asked with a smile plastered on his face. "What an extraordinary gift you have, Max," he said.
Alright, he could admit when he was wrong.
"I cannot," Magneto decided, as placed his fingers on his door's console, readying himself to roll up the window and end this troublesome conversation.
"Are you certain? It won't be any trouble," he said.
"I fly soon," he said as he pressed the button and the window began to roll up.
"Of course, you do. Safe travels, Mr. Eisenhardt," he said.
"Have a pleasant evening," he said.
"Oh, I doubt I'll be getting much sleep tonight at all," Charles said as Magneto stopped rolling up the window and looked at Charles once more. "However, I appreciate the sentiment and I thank you for returning Rogue to us this evening," he said.
Magneto instantly had the urge to dismantle the car, retrieve the girl and leave with the utmost haste. But he'd made a promise and thus-
"Good night," he said instead, with a forced smile.
"Gute Nacht," Charles replied, much the same.