I apologize for the first two paragraphs. I know I should show not tell you how Rogue is feeling; but I don't feel like writing out the whole car ride back to the institute. It's fulled with a lot of awkward pauses and mostly silence between the two of them. Instead, I'm summing up Rogue's feelings from the forty-five minute ride and getting straight into the much more interesting (at least in my opinion) part of the conversation.

Please enjoy :)

Taunting Repartee

Chapter Thirty

It was a little past midnight when Magneto finally kept to word, and returned Rogue to the institute. The ride there had been tense, to say the least. Once they had exited the house; the reality of her situation had started to come back to her. He was returning her to her family. It had been so long since she had seen them it seemed almost surreal to her. There were so many questions in the back of her mind. Things she had asked before; issues she had tried to bring up; that paled in comparison to the safely of her family.

But now that she knew they were safe; well as safe as they could be from Magneto; her mind had started to bring up those questions again. It had taken an considerable amount of effort to keep herself from asking them. She was still holding onto the peaceful feeling she had started to covet these last few days. She could ask, but she didn't want to disturb their peace. She wanted to enjoy this quite moment while it lasted.

Rogue held back a gasp as she gazed upon the remains of her home from the front seat of Magneto's car.

'Girl, you knew it was gonna be bad,' she told herself as Magneto put his hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright, Anna?" Magneto asked.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "Yeah, I just... knowing it's gonna happen and actually seeing it are- it's two different thing," she muttered.

"It will be rebuild. I've already sent Charles the check," he told her. She quickly turned to glance at him. "Anonymously, of course, but he now possesses the funds the X-Men require to reconstruct your home," he said as he gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"I didn't- I didn't know you were gonna do that," she muttered.

"I have been and will continue to be the X-Men's largest contributor," he told her.

"...Thank you," she found herself saying yet again..

"My pleasure," he said with a smile. She returned his smile for a moment.

'Alright, girl, it's time to go home,' she thought as she willed herself to turn away from him; but she found herself hesitating. A part of her didn't want to get out of the car; a part of her wanted to stay with him. She felt her smile falter as she took a deep breath. 'Just get out of the car,' she told herself as she took a deep breath. She turned away from him towards the door.

"Not yet, Anna," he told her. She felt her heart skip a beat.

"Why?" she asked; quickly meeting his gaze.

"We can't have two of you running around the institute. We are waiting for Cargirll," he answered.

"Oh."

"Are you in a hurry to leave?" he asked; there was the slightest trace of annoyance in his tone..

"No, it ain't that, Max," she said reassuringly. Honestly, she wanted to get away from him while she possessed the will power to leave. "I just wanna go ta sleep," she said. "You know how to tire a girl out," she added with a small smile. He chuckled.

"That I do," he said happily before he kissed his forehead; she felt her face flush at the contact. His hand moved from her shoulder to her cheek before he brought his lips to hers.

A few minutes later Rogue tore her lips from Magneto's when she heard a knock at her door. She turned and let out a small gasp when she saw herself staring into the car.

'It's just Cargrill,' she thought as she looked into what appeared to be her own eyes She turned back to Magneto. "Guess, this is it then," she said.

"For the moment. You will met again soon enough," he said before he kissed her cheek. "You have my word," he whispered in her ear before he pulled away. Rogue took a deep breath as her eyes met his.

'You need to get out of the car,' she thought. "Good night," she said quickly before she raced out of the car. To her surprise Magneto exited the car as she did.

"Ms. Cargrill," he said.

"Yes, sir," she replied in an southern accent that sounded remarkably similar to her own. Rogue felt a shiver run down her spine; she wasn't sure if it was the cold night air, or the eeriness of seeing someone impersonate her so well, that caused it.

"You may remove your disguise," he said. Joanna Cargrill touched her hand to her seemingly bare wrist and the image around her faded and revealed a young black woman. "The coordinates have already been loaded into the g.p.s; follow them. There you will receive your next orders," he commanded.

"Yes, sir," she said again; dropping the accent from her voice. Both Rogue and Magneto watched her get into the car. As it was pulling away Magneto walked closer to her.

"So," he said as he placed his hands on her shoulders, "now for a proper farewell." He leaned in and placed his lips on hers. She moved closer to his as she placed her hands on his chest. She let out a soft moan as he deepened the kiss. She felt him wrap an arm around her waist. He broke the kiss. "Forgive me, my girl, but I can not leave you here tonight without asking this question," he said. She gazed up into his eyes.

"What- what question, Max?" she asked anxiously.

"Are you certain you wish to leave me?" he asked.

'No, no I ain't,' she thought with a sigh before her eyes narrowed. "...Why did ya have to ask like that?" she asked annoyed. "Of course, I don't wanna leave you. I like you. Our conversations-... everything. I- I like the way you make me feel... God, I-" she started to say as she ran her hands down his chest; she heard him suck in a breath. "I love this part," she said before she gave him a quick kiss. She started to pull away; but felt his hand in her hair pulling her lips back to his.

"Max," she said breathlessly a moment later, "I have to go back. They're my family," she said. "I've worked so hard to get back here. I don't expect you to understand why, but this is something I need to do. Please don't make this harder for me than it has to be," she said..

"Harder?" he asked an eyebrow raised. "Departing from my company is difficult for you?" he asked.

"...Yes," she admitted. He smiled warmly at her. "But I still need to do it," she pointed out. He brushed her hair behind her ear before let out a long sigh.

"...You do not have to re-" he started to say.

"Max," she said annoyed interrupting him breaking out of his hold. "Don't finish that sentence... please," she added with desperation as she turned to look at him. "I asked you not to make this harder for me. And then of course you have to go and-... Just- ...how am I getting over the wall?" she asked irritated.

"My assistance," he said his eyes narrowing.

"Then start assisting," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest. He took a step towards her. They held each others glare for a long moment until he sighed; his expression softening.

"I am sorry, Anna. When you are concerned, I'm afraid, I allow my emotions to get the better of me. You have to understand, my girl, I have no desire to relinquish you to another's custody," he told her gently.

"Not even my own?" she asked riled. She watched his eyes widen.

"I misspoke," he said quickly as he reached out to touch her arm.

"Yes, you did," she said pulling away from him.

"What I meant to say is that I do not want to leave you here," he explained hastily. "I do not want to leave you anywhere," he said strongly as he took hold of her arm. "Anna," he said as he pulled her to face him, "it has been decades," he said as their eyes made contact, "since I have had the desire to have a partner by my side. I never thought I would find another who could fill that role; but you do, my love, so beautifully, so perfectly," he said as he ran his hand down her cheek. She felt her face blush all over the again. "And now, that I have found you, I want nothing more than for you to take up that role," he said.

'Why does he always have ta make it sound so good?' she thought closing her eyes; needing to look at anything besides him. "You want everything, Max," she said. "Everything I have," she said as she glance up at him.

"And in exchange I want to give you everything in return... an equal trade," he told her. She didn't want to say no to him again.

"I'm too exhausted for this conversation. I just wanna go pass out," she told him.

"Anna-" he started to say; she could tell by his tone that he was only going to ask again. She felt a surge of anger; why couldn't he just stop?

"Please, let me go to sleep," she said. "I would've walked away already, but I need your help to get over the wall," she said; hugging herself.

"Alright," he said sadly as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Thank you," she said annoyed as she looped her arms around his neck

"We're going to have to extremely quiet from this point on. I don't believe either of us wish to wake any of your family members," he said softly as he lifted them both into the air. "I have no desire to issue threats this late at night," he said as he moved them both over the wall. She felt a fear filled shutter run down her spine.

"You're right, I don't want that," she whispered as he landed them to the ground. "Just, why do you always have to push your luck?" she asked disappointed as she gazed up at him.

"Because," he whispered as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "I enjoy challenging you and the boundaries of our relationship," he answered as the two of them began to walk.

"Well, I don't mind that but people have their limits; I have my limits. Ya gotta know when to give it a rest," she whispered

"I am not accustomed to compromising," he whispered.

"No shit," she muttered with a small smile. "That's another thing you gotta work on," she said.

"I am not the only one who has failed to accommodate," he whispered.

"What the hell are you talking about?" she whispered frustrated; struggling to keep her voice low. "All I've done is compromise myself to your standards," she told him.

"And you claim that I haven't?" he asked in disbelief. "I postponed and rewrote an entire strategy to suit your desires," he snapped as his grip on her shoulder.

"I've manipulated my own family to further a future plan of your that you refuse to explain to me," she rebutted as she tried to get out of his hold. After a moment of resistance he let her go as they both continued to march through the grass.

"I have altered my schedule countless times to accommodate your questions and mistakes," he whispered.

"I've lied to every member of my family to save your telepaths from working overtime," she whispered.

"And also to ensure that you could return here," he pointed out.

"So, I haven't told anyone; I haven't had the chance too in over a week since you knocked me unconscious," she said.

"You agreed to that," he said as he paced a foot ahead of her.

"Yeah, the third time you did it. The first two times you didn't even ask me," she said bitterly. He stopped walking.

"I most certainly did, Anna Marie," he said strongly as he turned to face her. "You asked me night after night if there was anything I could do," he said. Her eyes widening as she realized what he was about to say. "If I could help you sleep without the nightmares. You asked for my help. I provided it," he said.

"How?" she asked as she gazed up at him. He looked away from her. "I deserve to know, Max," she whispered with conviction.

"First I called upon the iron in your blood to render you unconscious," he said.

"I got enough iron in me for that?" she whispered in disbelief. "I don't eat that much red meat," she pointed out.

"There might have been a few injections involved in the onset of this process," he said.

"Might have?" she whispered infuriated. "Did you or didn't you inject me with iron?" she asked.

"I did," he answered. She felt violated. "You said you were willing to try anything," he said. "It was experimental on both our parts. Despite all the years I have had to practice; the human body's electrochemical signals are not something I have tampered with often enough. When you asked for my help I had only thought about the process on a theoretical level. I was not certain it would work as I told you that night," he whispered.

"But it did," she said softly.

"Yes, thankfully it did. Do you want to know how?" he asked.

"Yes...," she answered softy.

"Well, in order to manipulate the-" he started to say.

"Wait," she interrupted. "I don't wanna know. Not tonight. I'm too damn tired for this," she muttered. A thought occurred to her. "You're not going to be here tonight. Are the nightmares gonna come back?" she asked fearfully.

"Of course not. I have taken care of those details," he whispered.

"That I need ta know how," she told him. He sighed.

"I had Ms. Frost create mental blocks to keep the fragments from effecting you on an unconscious level," he said.

"That's possible?" she asked.

"Apparently," he said with a smile. "If those nightmares reoccur I want you to call me so I can have it fixed," he said.

"Great, I need fixing," she muttered.

"Not you, Anna, the by-product of your powers. There is no reason for you to endure the trauma of seeing someone die every night," he said.

"No, there ain't," she mumbled softly; a few of the horrifying images crept to the front of her mind. Taking a deep breath she pushed them back the way Magneto had taught her. She let out a sigh. 'How could one man simultaneously be responsible for so many good and bad things in my life?' she asked herself. "Thanks," she muttered gazing up at him.

"Your welcome," he said as he took a step closer to her. "May we try this again?" he asked as he put his hands on her shoulders rubbing. "Saying our farewells, I mean. I would, if you allow, prefer to end this night pleasantly," he said. "Especially, considering the way it started," he said with a smirk. She couldn't help but smile.

"Okay," she said as she placed her hands on his chest. They kissed.

"Good night, Anna," he uttered.

"Good night, Max," she whispered before she pulled away from him.

That's all for today. Thank you for reading and please review!

Oh, in the first two paragraphs I said that Rogue had tons of questions, but I failed to mention what those questions were. I did that on purpose. I wanted to get you all thinking about what questions your curious about. So, please do me a favor and write a review posting your questions (if any) and I will answer them within the next few chapters of the fic.

Thank you again for tolerating my shameless attempts to get you guys to talk to me. :)