6/26/11
Hey; I decided to go back and change the time continuity errors of the fic
Hey! Well, that was a surprise! I thought you guys would want the fic to lighten up a bit, but you guys want it dark! Thanks a lot! I'm really glad I asked! So, on with the fic!
Taunting Repartee
Chapter Seventeen
Rogue's eyes fluttered open at the sound of running water. It was still dark in the room. As she turned over to look at the bathroom door she saw light emanating from beneath it. She closed her eyes as she turned over, letting the warmth of her covers lull her back to sleep.
Rogue opened her eyes again to see Eric standing with his back turned to her. Only a white towel covered his body. Rogue let out a small gasp before she could stop herself.
"Are you awake?" he whispered.
"Wish I wasn't," she replied softly.
"My apologizes, for waking you," he said as leaned down. She could see, through her half opened eyes, that he was in front in the dresser. He walked away from the dresser, back towards the bathroom: clothes in hand. She closed her eyes again, hoping to fall back asleep.
Just as she had gotten comfortable again, she heard the blow dryer turn on in the bathroom. She groaned as she put a pillow over the side of her head.
After three minutes of being unable to ignore the noise, she threw the covers of her body. She sat up as she looked a the time. It was only eight am.
'Why the hell am I awake right now?' she thought to herself irate, as she sauntered over to her dresser. She pulled out the clothing she would be wearing: her usual green and black attire. She heard a door open behind her.
"Good morning, Anna," he said softly.
"What's good about it?" she asked as she marched passed him, into the bathroom. She slammed the door closed as she muttered under her breath, "Fucking eight a'clock in the morning..."
Ten minutes later she walked out of the bathroom, fully clothed, and still fuming. She opened her mouth, readying to give him a piece of her mind, as she looked up.
To her surprise he wasn't in the room.
Her mouth closed as she realized she was alone. Warily, she glanced around the room.
'He must of went back across the hall,' she guessed as she sat on her bed and put on her shoes. She stood up as she finish and headed for the door. She slowly turned the knob and opened the door. She glanced out.
Eric was standing to her left, he had two brown trench coats hung over his arm. He handed her one of the brown coats. She looked at it questioningly.
"I thought it would be better if I took this from your room unseen, rather than having you attempt to explain why you need it," he said. She took it from him with a slow nod. She put it on. "Ready to go then?" Eric asked as he put on his own brown trench coat as he looked down at her.
"Yes," she said.
"Good," he said turned and start to walk down the hallway.
"Where are you going?" she asked, having a sense of de ja vu from a week ago.
"You will see when we get there," he said as he continued to walk.
"...I don't have a choice today, do I? Even if I promised to just sit in this room and read all day, you wouldn't listen, would you?" she asked. She watched as he continued to walk, ignoring her questions. Her eyes narrowed. "I didn't mean wouldn't listen literally, Eric," she said annoyed. He chuckled as he stopped walking and turned to look at her.
"Today, I have business to attend to. I had planed my day without the foresight that you would be present. There are things I must do. I can not reschedule and I can not leave you here alone," he said.
"Why not? I won't go anywhere," she promised.
"Your emotions are too erratic, Anna. A product of an eclectic memory. Your prefect recall of events causes your emotions to fluctuate too unpredictably. I can not leave you alone," he said.
"I controlled myself for a week," she insisted
"It was only five days, and your Professor was not missing. I do not know what you would do if you were left on your own with this knowledge, and I have no desire to find out," he said frankly. "Come," he said. She didn't move. "...I can make you walk," he said dryly. "But I have no desire to force you..." he said. She huffed. "In that respect at the very least. I am attempting to make this process as pleasant as possible. But you are not helping," he said.
"So, that's what I'm supposed to doing right now? Help you: The man who's been holding me captive for two months?" she asked sarcastically. "There's a term for that in Psychology. You know psychology, right Eric?" she asked bitterly. "When a captive grows to like, and help there captor," she said as she searched through her memories. She knew she had read it before, Jean had. "Stockholm syndrome," she said once she recalled the term. "No thanks, I already care about you too much. I'm not going to help you too," she said.
"Anna," he said as he turn and walked towards her. "I'm just asking you to walk with me. You have walked with me before," he said as he stood in front of her. He took her hold of her wrist. She pulled at it, but his grip only tightened
"You really want to help me, Eric?" she asked. "Then go away," she yelled.
"I can not," he said calmly. "I've already stated the reason why. Anna," he said softly as she continued to attempt to free her hand, "please do not fight me. Not about such an insignificant detail."
"Insignificant," she exclaimed. "The fact that I can't go where I want when want is insignificant?" she asked in disbelief.
"At this point in time, with everything else happening in Bayville... yes," he answered. She took a deep breath as silent tears ran down her face.
"Erase my memory," she said.
"You can not be serious," he said. She did not back down. "You will keep putting events in place."
"Everything! Everything from this week. From last Saturday until today. I'll remember the phone call, and that's it. I said no, and we'll leave it there. I won't know anything else. You won't have to follow me all the time, just... just when it's convenient for you "
"I can not erase a week from your mind. You powers will allow you to see the gaps. You will know something is wrong. You ask Charles for assistance and she will not be able to help," he said. "I'm going to late," he said as he started to walk: he had to drag her with him.
"Please, Eric," she begged at she took a few steps with him: if she hadn't she would have fallen to the floor. "I just want everything to go back to normal. I don't want to remember all of this... you can replace my memories with others, bridge the gaps. You could reconcile the fight you and I had after the Professor found out about us, You have telepaths, I know you could do it," she cried as they got to the top of the stairs.
She gasped as he pulled her to his side. He put his free hand around his shoulder and his grip around her hand tightened more.
"Eric, you're hurting me," she said as she looked up at him. He gaze was set: he was looking ahead. "All you've done this week is hurt me," she said. She took a deep breath. "Eric... if you... if you love me let me forget," she said. He stopped walking half way down the stairs. He stood in front of her, one step lower than her. His gaze met hers as he glanced at tear covered face her face. His expression softened as he looked into her eyes. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, her eyes closed at the contact.
"I can not," he said softly into her hair.
"Why?" she asked. "Wouldn't it be easier than dragging me around everywhere?" she said calmly, her eyes still closed. She moved her hands to his chest.
"No it would not," he said.
"Practically?" she asked.
"Yes, it would be easier... practically."
"But emotionally it would be hard," she guessed. "Five days away from me, and you couldn't stand it... You're being selfish now, aren't you?" she asked as she looked up at him.
"For seventy-four years I have never denied myself anything that I want," he said as he hand brushed against her cheek. She sucked in a breath "Why would I start now?" he asked with a small smile.
"You could keep trying to recruit me. I'll keep saying no, but- but we both had more fun when you trying to recruit me. Even the game of chess was more fun," she said quickly. He smiled as he hand cupped her cheek, he rubbed her skin tenderly.
"We did have more fun when you were unaware, but you would just put the clues together again and find out that I am the fragment."
"Eric, the only reason I found out was because you told me... Next time just don't tell me," she said. "You don't have to lose me," she said. "And I can be happy," she said. "I might even say yes if things are better, and I never have to know about this week. I- …"she let her voice trail off as she thought. What else could she say. What would make him consider doing it.
"I was so close to having sex with you when I didn't know everything," Rogue said. He chuckled loudly as his hand wiped away tears from her eyes. "I was," she said.
"Oh, my girl," he said softly. "My beautiful, manipulative girl," he said before kissing her: she let him, even returning the kiss when it became more demanding. He placed a light kiss on her lips, before he backed away. "Let's play with this idea for a moment," he said with a smile. "If I were to erase your memory. Fix the fight we had, bridge the gaps, so you would feel that nothing was amiss then you would be completely in the dark. You would know nothing," he stressed.
"I would be okay with that," she said.
"Really?" he asked in disbelief. "You would deny yourself knowledge? You would deny yourself the right to ask your questions, and to find my answers?" he asked before laughing softly. "All I've done this last week is answer your questions. And all you have done is gotten angry at me when I refuse to answer them," he said with a smile as he took a step back, she stepped with him.
"That's not all we've done," she calmed.
"True. I've also been attempting to get you into a bed with me. I succeed a few times in that endeavor," he said with a smirk as he took another step backwards. "As enjoyable as our time together last month was, I do consider last Saturday night to be the first time we really came together," he said.
"First time you let me do something for you," she said as she stepped with him off the stairs.
"Yes, it was," he said as he put his arm around her shoulder again.
"You were taking advantage of me," she said softly.
"I am always taking advantage of you," he said as they started to walk towards the front door. "Our relationship in it's entirety is me taking advantage of you. I have never attempted to hide that fact. You are the one who fooled yourself into believing otherwise," he said.
"I trusted you," she exclaimed as they sauntered out the front door.
"You shouldn't have," he said gently as he looked down at her. "If I were to erase your memories of this week I would, with your permission, be taking advantage of you. I would be attempting to turn you to my side, and you, without all of the important information you, would be unknowingly stepping into a trap. You speak of stockholm syndrome. What you suggest if far worse. We would be building a bond on false pretenses."
"We already did," she whispered. "Reason I care about you is all that time we had together."
"And if that exchange had gone on longer, the months, the year we would have had together would be the reason you love me," he said strongly. "You were getting closer to love each and every day. I could see it in your eyes."
"I could see it in your too," she said quietly as they walked down the road to the main gate of the institute.
"You did see it in my eyes," he pointed out. She gave out a short laugh. "And then you told me."
"I didn't tell you. I asked you. Your memory sucks," she muttered.
"Compared to yours, Anna, absolutely," he said.
"Wait," she said as she replayed the few sentences he had said in her mind, "You said last night that I already loved you," she said.
"I lied," he said. "I was trying to get you against you a wall, seeing as the bed was not an option."
"Could you stop trying to manipulate into sleeping with you?" she asked annoyed.
"No," he said with a smile. She glared up at his with narrowed eyes, before sighing.
"...You're not going to erase my memory, are you?" she asked.
"I do not believe that you want me to," he said. "The choice is your though," he said.
"Really?" she asked.
"Yes, I simply want you to understand the choice that you're making. The feelings you have and will develop for me will be the product of stockholm syndrome in either scenario."
"Did you really just admit that?" she asked.
"It is the truth, and in this scenario you get the truth. In the scenario you are suggesting, however," he started to say.
"You and I have sex a lot," she finished.
"Yes, we would," he said with a smile. "And I would not hold back any longer. With your permission, I would aim to seduce you completely. Eventually, as the months go on, as the situation in Bayville becomes darker, you would grow to value our relationship more than that of your family's, and that is when I would suggest that you come and find me. You would find me of course. Just as with operation rebirth, the first place you thought to look is where I would be," he said. She laughed softly.
"There was no way I wasn't finding you that day, you made sure of it... Did we actually destroy operation rebirth?" she asked. He laughed.
"Of course not," he laughed. "A machine that valuable? It holds the secrets for eternal life for our people. But I needed Shield to think you had so they would stop pursuing me."
"So, you used me," she said.
"In every sense of the word," he commented.
"And the X-Men," she added.
"That's why I created them," he said offhandedly.
"What?" she asked in shock. She replayed his words in her head just to make sure she had heard him right. "Prof created the- you didn't- you... can erase his memories when ever you want. He's not even at the institute right now, for three days and no one noticed."
"Mr. McCoy did. However, I took care of- we took care of that fact."
"Prof thought it was his idea," she said.
"Well it was," he said. She looked up at him. "Back in the 1980's . But it was far too soon. There were only a handful of us at that time. If Charles had formed his team of dreamers when he had first thought of it, someone would have taking the part I play now, and opposed his peaceful mantra. Fights would have broken out, our existence would have been made public before you were even born."
"Anti-mutant groups would have formed before we had the number to fight them. Laws would have passed that would be beyond our control and the fight would have been lost before it even begun. Charles would have caused more harm to the mutant cause than good," he said as the approached the gates His hand moved till it was around her waist. "Face me," he ordered gently. She turned around in his arms until she was facing him.
"Why start all this now? Why wait twenty years?" she asked.
"Hold on," he said. She looped her arms around his neck. His hold tightened on her waist as he lifted them up into the air, and over the gate. "The time was not right until now. I needed certain people I can trust to do certain things, and those individuals did not come of age until this past year," he said as he as he lifted them higher into the air.
"Who?" she asked as she tightened her grip around his hold as she looked down at the streets they were flying over.
"I'm not gong to let you fall," he said as he tightened his hold on her waist.
"I know," she said. "Who?" she asked again.
"You will find out in time... If you decide to keep to this scenario," he added. She glanced back at his face to see him smirking at her. She sighed. "Truth, or a facade. The choice is yours," he said.
She took a deep breath before she said, "Truth."
"That's my girl," he said with pride before kissing her lightly.
"If I change my mind," she started to say.
"It will depend on when and where you change your decision. There will be some instants where I will be unable to fulfill your request," he said.
"I understand," she said.
"I know you do," he said with a smile. "You are the only one who does."
"...You don't want me to forget," she said.
"No, no I do not," he said. "I enjoy having someone to confide in. It has been many years since I've found someone with the potential to match me intellectually."
"The Professor?" she asked.
"Was a good friend, but too set in his ways. Where as you are-"
"Corruptible," she finished with a raised eyebrow.
"Young," he said with a smile. "You have not decided upon anything, in terms of your ideology," he said.
"I know I'm not saying yes to you," she said.
"But why won't you say yes?" he asked. "Because you disagree with my point of view, or what I have done to you?" he asked.
"What you've done to me," she said with a sigh. "I don't know about anything else," she admitted.
"Yet," he added with a smirk. "You are, however, leaning more towards my point of view," he said.
"What's make ya think that?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"A few conversations we have had. The conversation you had with Mr. Summer's Friday before last," he said.
"You were there? You were the fragment course you were there," she answered her own question.
"You're still have difficulty thinking of the me as the fragment as the same," he said.
"It's getting easier," she said as she looked into his eyes. She knew those eyes, the soft blue ones, staring back at her all those nights while she fell asleep in the same arms that were holding her now. His grip tightened over her back, she gasped. Despite the cold in the air they were flying though she felt warm, oddly safe in his arms. She moved one of hands against his cheek. He lifted one of his hand up and removed the glove from the hand that was one her cheek, before moving his hand back to her waist. Her fingers brushed against his lips. He kissed her fingers, as he had many times in the past. Her face blushed as she moved her hand back to his cheek. He smiled.
She remembered this smile, the kind smile that told her he understood everything she was feeling in ways no one else had before, or ever will again. "It's getting easier," Rogue whispered. He removed the gaps between their lips. Her eyes closed as he kissed her. She wrapped her arm around his neck again, pulling herself closer to him as his tongue entered her mouth. She broke the kiss a minute or so later. "I shouldn't do that," she whispered.
"You desire some happiness during this ordeal I am putting you through," he said.
"But I shouldn't get it from you," she said.
"There is no one else you could get it from," he pointed out.
"I know," she uttered as tears escaped her eyes. "That's really not fair," she whispered.
"I never claimed it was," he said gently as he lowered them to the ground. "I'm afraid we will have to finish this conversation after my meetings. We are here and I am late," he said as she looked around. She recognized this alley, the metal door she was staring at.
"The cafe," she said as she let go of his neck.
"Indeed," he said as he used his powers to open the back door. "After you, Anna," he said with a smile as his hand gestured towards the door.
I'm done for now! It's shorter than I had planned, but in the last two days I written over 18 pages for this chapter. I've rewritten it over five times! I like what I have, now. I like what It says. It's dark, but enjoyable. It has a good balance that served the plot of the story.
At least that's what I think. But how do you feel about it? Please let me know!
Speaking of which:
Review time!
Nisiria: Thanks for voting! Aww, thanks! Hope I this chapter didn't disappoint. ^.^
Darkness-Lightness: Sorry, more people voted dark! Hope you liked it though, please let me know!
LadyNorth76: Thanks! ^.^
Meow114: Thank you! I'm still going to try and update faster though. I really like writing for people like you! Plus it's been a year real time and less than two weeks in my fic's timeline. I'm going to try and get though at least a few months this year. We'll see what happens. Anyway, Thanks for the lovely review! I hope to hear from you again.
Falynn07: Aww! Bopping is cute! Thanks for voting, and I hope you liked the mood of this chapter. Please let me know!
Warrioroftheseventhstar: I will, definitely, be keeping your suggesting in mind as I write the fic! Thanks for the review!
Original1: Thank you! Your review was a really big ego boost for me, thanks for that! Hope you loved this chapter, and I hope to hear from you again.
Pointyearsrule: Your awesome amount of reviews made my day! I kept checking my email and each time there was a new review from you! Thanks for that! I'm glad you like the mind games and episode tie-in, cause we are not even close ot being done with either of those! I hope to hear from you again ^.^
BTW, I agree with your name. Pointy ears do rule!
Sinner-Pandemonium: You hit Magneto with a tomato! There was red stuff all over him after your review. That's why he had to take a shower! It's all your fault he woke up poor Rogue at eight in the morning! Shame on you XO! (By that I mean, I got the idea to make him take a shower after rereading your review ^.^)
Thanks for voting! Hope you loved this chapter and I hope to hear from you again!
Peneneth: Aww, I love making people squeal! I'm glade you enjoyed Eric's return ^.^ Thanks for voting. I will, definitely, keep what you said in mind as I'm writing the rest of the fic. Thanks for the happy birthdaying! I agree, I am proud! Thanks for the review, I hope to hear from you again!
Myst4drgn: I would NEVER turn Rogue into a ditz, ever! I'm probably making her too smart! But I think my explanation of her powers, and Magneto's influence on her calls for it. Thanks for the awesome review! I hope to hear from you again.