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Taunting Repartee

Chapter Forty-Six

Rogue lazily opened her eyes as she heard something shifting in the bedroom. She yawned as she saw Kitty getting out some clothes from their closet.

"It's time for school already?" she muttered.

"Ah, yeah, but the Professor said-" Kitty started to say.

'Rogue, I understand you wished to go to school but given the circumstances I feel I must ask you to stay home one more day. You brother is going to be here by one. We hoped to discuss the situation some more. I do have questions,' he thought. She had expected as much. It was her own fault for going to bed so early without explaining everything as she had planned. She still didn't feel like reliving the past three months but that was inevitable. Of course, there was a silver lining to the Professor's plan for the day.

'I'm gonna get a few more hours sleep then,' she thought as she closed her eyes.

'Please do,' he said.

"I'll see ya later, Kitty," she muttered as she felt herself drifting back to sleep.

"Good night," Kitty whispered; a smile in her voice.

Rogue had only been able to sleep for about another hour. After that, despite how many times she turned over, or how comfortable she was in her bed, she couldn't drift back to sleep. So, she let her mind wander as she laid there; her thoughts on the negotiations. A few notions came to mind. The most prevalent being that Max had an important business meeting this afternoon from three to seven. Although, the fragment suspected that it would take more time than that.

'It's likely, once my counterpart remembers his prior engagement, that he will have to reschedule with you, my girl,' the fragment had told her. He had asked if she wanted the details of what the meeting was about, but she had declined his offer. She had enough on her mind as it was.

Around midday Rogue entered the kitchen, fresh out of the shower, her stomach yelling at her to eat something. The smell of pancakes fulled the air.

"Good afternoon, Rogue," Ororo said from the stove.

"Hi, Ororo," Rogue said with a smile. "How are you?" she asked.

"I'm alright. Thank you for asking. We decided to have a late breakfast. Would you like some?" she asked as Rogue walked over to the cabinet.

"That sounds great," Rogue said as she grabbed a glass. "Ya want one?" Rogue asked.

"I have coffee, but thank you," she said before she turned back to the pan on the stove. Rogue walked over the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of orange juice.

"Ya need any help with anything?" she asked.

"No," Ororo smiled. "Go ahead and sit. These will be done in just a moment," she said before Rogue did as she was instructed; taking a sip of her drink.

"Good afternoon," Professor Xavier said as he entered the room.

"They're almost done, Charles," Ororo said as Rogue took another sip.

"Thank you, Ororo," the Professor said as he moved up to the counter and poured himself some coffee.

"How are you, Rogue?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said as he moved to the refrigerator and poured a little milk in his coffee. "I'm not tired anymore. I couldn't fall back to sleep if I tried," she said.

"That's good," he smiled as he moved up to the table. "I'm glad to hear it!" he said as he put sugar in his coffee. "...How are you doing emotionally?" he asked.

"Actually, I'm feeling pretty optimistic. I don't really wanna go over the past few month with ya' all but there's a lot I need to say. So, I'll deal. You can start asking questions any time ya wanna," she told him before she took a sip of her drink.

"Very well," he said as Ororo brought a large stack of pancakes and three plates to the table.

"No one else is eating?" Rogue asked as Ororo walked over and grabbed some forks and knifes.

"Hank ate with the students this morning and Logan went for a drive last night," Ororo said as she sat down.

"He still hasn't gotten back, huh?" Rogue asked sadly as she grabbed a fork.

"No, not yet," the Professor said as he and Ororo followed suit.

"Do ya wanna wait till after we eat to ask questions?" Rogue asked.

"I suppose it doesn't make much difference," he said sadly as Rogue poured syrup on her food. She handed the bottle to Ororo when she was done with it.

"Thank you," she smiled. Rogue returned it.

"When was the first time, Magneto kidnapped you?" the Professor asked.

"Ya mean since I absorbed him, right?" she asked. She watched the professor's eyes widen for a moment. They both knew the first time was when she was still in diapers.

"...Yes, yes that is what I meant," he clarified before he took a bite of his food.

"About an hour after I absorbed him," she answered. Her eyes widened as the Professor started to couch. "Are you okay?" she asked concerned as he took a large sip of his coffee.

"Charles?" Ororo asked.

"...I'm- I'm fine," he said after a moment.

"Are ya sure ya don't wanna wait till after we eat?" Rogue asked again.

"No," he coughed. "No, that's alright. Please continue," he said.

"Hm- so, yeah, it was about an hour after I absorbed him that he astro-projected himself inta my mind for the first time."

"Why?" Ororo asked.

"Hmm-" Rogue said uncertain.

'Because I had no telepath available at that time. I knew what your powers were but was unaware how grossly under-trained they were. I thought, before entering your mind, that I might have to take measures that night to keep you from telling Charles certain information. I thought it best to find out what I was dealing with before allowing you to return to the institute,' the fragment provided. She let out a short laugh of disbelief.

"This all happened 'cause he didn't have anyone else available that night. He didn't have anyone else to see how much a threat I was," she told them in disbelief. "If he had one telepath available, just one, none of this would have happened. He never would have-" she said out loud.

'Anna, I am honestly glad that no one else was available,' he said.

'I- I don't know if I am or not- I mean, I'm grateful for all you're help and-'

'You don't have to explain, my girl. From my prospective, I have been present in you mind for the entirety of our relationship. I've seen everything you have; shared in your strives and triumphs. Without you uttering a word, I already understand you feelings completely,' he said.

'...I don't know if that's suppose to be creepy or comforting,' she thought.

'We're talking about our relationship, Anna. It's a little of both,' he thought with a smirk in his tone. She rolled her eyes with a smile before she turned her attention back to the Professor. He was waiting patiently.

"Sorry," she said quickly, "We got into a conversation," she explained.

"It's alright. You were saying?" he asked.

"Oh, right, that Max started helping me with my powers on Christmas Eve but he was already took me as his prisoner. I just didn't know it," she said.

"I see," the Professor said as he took a deep breath.

Charles listened intently as Rogue explained the first time she became aware that Magneto was holding her captive, how she had found out, and what else occurred that long day everyone had played baseball outside. Charles had asked a few questions about the chess match between them. He was interested in how she had manipulated him. So was she, it turned out.

"And then he asked; 'What is there is stop me from going back on my word. Then I said; 'The fact that you gave it. You're still trying to recruit me, Eric. The last thing you want to destroy is what little trust I have in you. I know what means you're willing to use to get what you want. I know that killing isn't beneath you. Neither blackmail. The promises you've made me, teaching me about my powers, never feeling loneliness again.'"

"'That life with you would be better than with the X-Men. Me believing that you're gonna do all that. That you're capable and willing to, that's the only reason I would ever consider joining you. If I did join you, and found out about it, and I would find out about it," she said; Charles noted the smirk on her face as she repeated that particular line. "I'd leave you in a heart beat. So, am I certain you haven't read my mind? Oh yeah. You wouldn't dare,'" she finished softly. Rogue's eyes were distant. She was clearly deep in thought.

"...After that game things changed between us. It was subtle... So, fucking subtle I didn't even notice until now, but he started to play by those rules. Everything he said, good or bad, he was fighting to regain my trust. I used that to my advantage so many fucking times," she laughed. "And yeah, now I- now I trust him again. But he knows, all it would take to destroy my trust in him is one broken promise. That's it," she explained. "Ya know, the only difference between then and now is; back then I was acting on instinct, but now, I actually know what I'm doing," she said amazed. "It makes me- ..."

"Yes?" Charles asked.

"...Close to the same caliber of strategist that he is," she said softly in disbelief.

"Yesterday he said you were a master strategist," Charles said. She glanced up at him surprised.

"I didn't think I was that good, yet," she said under his breath.

"Magneto apparently does," Charles said.

"Yeah," she mumbled.

Rogue became vague when he asked what occurred right after the chess match.

"Rogue, if you wish to skip certain events that occurred between the two of you when he was holding you captive in your bedroom, I understand. Or you could simply say, he tried to seduce me and we'll leave it at that," Charles offered as Ororo stood up clean up from breakfast. He could sense Ororo's discomfort with the conversation. He would offer to help but he knew that Ororo was just looking for an excuse to leave the conversation for a moment to collect herself.

"I- Ororo, do you want any help?" Rogue asked.

"No, you two talk. I'll clean up," she said with a smile.

"Thank you, Ororo," Charles said before he turned his attention back to Rogue. She let out a sigh.

"He tried to seduce me, but he got a phone call and had to leave. Hey, what did Emma say to you?" she asked the fragment aloud. Charles knew it was for his benefit.

There was a moment of silence.

"A tree?" she laughed. "A tree took a considerable amount of planning?" she asked mockingly. Charles eyes widen in shock. "Really?" she laughed. For most the day Charles had been unable to return to the institute because of a downed tree on the road.

'For which Magneto was responsible for?' he asked himself in disbelief as Rogue exclaimed,

"Work of strategical genius, my ass," she smirked, rolling her eyes. After an hour of siting in bumper to bumper traffic he had decided to turn around and run another errand. Once he was done he had hoped that the traffic would be cleared but still he had to sit for another half hour until he was able to drive home. Ororo glanced over at him, wide eyed. She had been with him in the car. Magneto had successfully kept them both from the institute that day.

"If we had only known," Ororo said quietly. "I would have flew us home. We would have abandoned the car. We would have never allow Magneto to have-" Ororo said in anger. Her usual complete control over her emotions was slipping.

"I know that, Ororo. Ya didn't do anything wrong. It was just traffic. How could you have known that Max was the cause of it?" Rogue asked.

'I was stuck in traffic the day Magneto attempted to kidnap her from the school. The others had to come retrieve me. He's utilized that tactic more than once,' he realized in disbelief.

"This will not happen again," Ororo said strongly.

"I know it won't," Rogue agreed as she glanced at Ororo.

'Because she's believe in us or because she is going to hold Magneto to his word?' he asked himself; knowing the answer was the latter.

"Prof?" Rogue asked concerned. He glanced up at her. "Are you okay?" she asked concerned.

"I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me," he said with a smile.

"Except you're lying and I worry whether I have ta or not," she told him. Charles sighed as he held his fingers to the bridge of his nose.

"I am your guardian, Rogue. It is my job to protect and worry about you. Not the other way around," he said.

"It's a little late for that, Prof," she laughed as his expression turned dark."...And who's says a teenager can't worry about their guardian? Ask how they are? Have a serious conversation about what's bothering them?" she asked.

"No one, I suppose," he said; deciding, for the moment, to drop the subject.

Rogue went in to explain that she had promised to not tell anyone that Magneto had come to the institute in exchange that he left.

"Not that, that lasted long," Rogue sighed. "He came back only an hour later."

"Why?" Charles asked. He noticed her hesitation. "Rogue, whatever it is. Whatever happened that night, not matter how much you think it might upset me, I need to know," he said strongly. Her watched her take a deep breath.

"I was talking to both of you and Mr. McCoy in your office. I was tired and really stressed out. You could tell," she said making eye contact with him. "So, when I lied, saying that Magneto hadn't threatened me, ya didn't believe me," she told him.

"But why don't we remember this conversation?" Ororo asked; once again sitting at the table with them.

"Cause Magneto didn't want ya to," she said quietly as she glanced down at the table. Charles watched her facial expression change. He saw the same fear there now as he had when she had relived that moment in the Sarhara. He opened his mouth to call her out of the memory but stopped when she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened them a moment later.

"I'm sorry I could not stop him from terrifying you," Charles said bitterly.

"... It ain't your fault, Prof," she said as they made eye contact. "The way he's run things in the past; all the mutants he's kept hidden from view, telepaths especially. He wanted you to underestimate him. And he got what he wanted. He usually does" she shrugged. Charles nodded thoughtfully.

"So, that night you learned that Magneto could have free reign of our home, that I nor any of the other mutants in the institute was capable of stopping him, that he could take you from your home whenever he pleased and... that he loved you," he finished with a sigh.

"Yup, pretty much," she said indifferently. It disturbed him that she seemed un-phased by Magneto invasion of her privacy, of her freedom. It was although, for her, this was normal.

'Her fear, Magneto's complete domination over her, and the kindness he was willing to show her... all of it a prefect breeding ground for stockholm syndrome,' he realized appalled. "...And you care for him?" he asked.

"Yeah," she answered with a raised eyebrow.

"Did you happen to notice if your feelings for him intensified at all after that day?" he asked; knowing she was trying to figure out what he was alluding to.

"...No," she said. "Until then I had been thinking about the fragment, Eric, and Magneto as too different people. Eric, I liked, and Magneto I was afraid of. But once I learned that they were the same, it took me a few days to wrap my head around that," she explained.

"I see," he said. He needed to know more. If her feelings were the product of that syndrome then he could not allow Magneto any more time to strengthen the bond. Although, he had a feeling that both of them were going to insist upon being allowed to meet. He wasn't sure which of them would advocate for it more vigorously. "So, he left, I presume, sometime that night. When exactly?" the Professor asked.

"I don't know. I fell asleep," she said.

"In my office?" he asked with an raised eyebrow. 'For the love of god, please let her say my office,' he thought to himself desperately.

"...No, in my bedroom," she answered uneasy. He watched her lower her head as her face flushed. "He tired to seduce me," she said for at least the fifth time that morning. Charles let out a groan in frustration.

"I would just like to point out, that among Magneto's many transgressions against you, that I find his ability to seduce you immediately after threatening you incredibly distasteful and unethical," he said.

"That makes two of us," she told him; surprising him. "...I yelled at him for it," she said.

"What did he say in response?" he asked.

"He apologized and left me alone that night- hm... this was the night I found out you were being held captive by Max," she clarified. "This was the ah- twenty-second."

"We'll come back to that but for now lets go back to the night of the fifteenth. When did you see him next after you fell asleep?" he asked.

"The next morning," she answered.

"Why did he come to see you?" Charles asked.

"Cause he- ah... he left two shirts for me and he wanted to see how I looked in them," she answered meekly before he saw anger in her expression which all too quickly turned into fear. He put aside, with effort, his own disgust and instead focused on her.

"Rogue, what else happened that morning? Did he threaten you again?" he asked.

"...Yes," she said before she took deep breaths. "God, I hate that look," she muttered.

"What look?" Ororo asked.

"Like he wanted to kill me," she answered as his eyes widened. "He doesn't ever," she said in response to his expression. "I mean, he even promised-" she started to say before she stopped herself.

"Promised what, Rogue?" Charles asked.

"...That- that I would outlive him," she said with a small smile, "and he meant it too," she added with warmth in her voice.

'It's no wonder she feels safe with him,' he thought to himself. "When was this?" he asked.

"February twenty-sixth," she answered.

"Was this before or after your brother and Miss Frost went back into the restaurant?" he asked.

"After. Like, half an hour later. We were still outside the restaurant," she said.

'So, he isolated her and then promised her she would always be safe with him,' he thought. Again stockholm syndrome came to mind. "Did Magneto make any other promises that night?" he asked. She glanced away from him, at first not responding.

"...We ah- Maybe we should go back to the sixteenth and work our way up to that," she said. He glanced at her curiosity. They only had ten minutes until Graydon and Emma returned. Going back meant postponing the discussion of that night until later this afternoon, maybe tomorrow. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she didn't know that. He sighed.

'She had been though so much these past few months. Her freedom stripped away. All the revelations about her past and Magneto causing an unfathomable amount of stress. Perhaps I should allow her this one manipulation,' he thought to himself. Rogue let out an annoyed sigh.

"I don't wanna talk about that night yet. We're gonna have ta, I know, but does it have ta be today?" she asked; clearly switching tactics.

"No, I suppose not. But may I make a request?" he asked.

"Aside from that one?" she teased. He sighed.

"Yes. If you do not wish to discuss a certain subject, please just say so in the first place. Please do not try to manipulate me," he said. She cast her gaze away from his.

"Sorry... it's a bad habit I picked up," she muttered.

"I understand that keeping all of those secrets must have been incredibly taxing on you. I do no blame you for falling into those habits and I doubt that the negative effects caused by your captivity will simply disappear over night. I'm just happy that I am finally in a position to help you through it. I'm sorry that he kept me from offering you aid for so long," he said.

"It's not you fault," Rogue said quietly as he studied her face.

"Charles, Rogue," Ororo said, calling for their attention.

"Yes?" Charles asked.

"Your brother is here," Ororo said as the three of them glanced at the t.v's showing the institute's grounds.

"I'll go get them," Rogue said quickly as she stood. Charles sighed as he watched her rush out of the room.

Graydon stood with Emma outside the institute waiting impatiently.

"Where is the doorbell?" Graydon said annoyed.

"I don't think gazebos have doorbells," Emma said dryly. "...I'm certain they'll realize we're here soon enough," she said. As if on cue the elevator doors opened. Rogue rushed out and pulled Graydon into a hug, which he returned.

"Thanks for not believing his bullshit," Rogue said.

"Anytime, Rogue," he said. They pulled apart a moment later.

"Ya wanna come inside?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said with a small smile before they both followed her into the elevator.

Rogue saw the Professor watching them as she Graydon and Emma walk out of the elevator.

"Ya all hungry?" Rogue asked as they walked down the hallway.

"No, we ate before we came," Emma answered.

"But thanks," Graydon finish as they three of them sat down at the table.

"Kurt should be home in about an hour," The Professor informed them. She watched a smile come to Graydon's face as Emma took hold of his hand.

"I'm finally going to get to meet him," he beamed.

'Ah, fuck,' Rogue though to herself.

"Rogue, what's wrong?" Emma asked concerned.

"It's ah- it's nothing," Rogue said quickly as she and Emma gazed at each other. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"You're lying," Emma pointed out as Rogue's eyes narrowed.

"So, maybe I am but you shouldn't know that. Stop scanning my mind. It's annoying," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Habit," Emma said dryly.

"Whatever," Rogue huffed.

"Well, what's wrong?" Emma asked again.

"Aside from my privacy being invad-" Rogue started to asked.

"Miss Frost, if you cannot keep yourself from reading my ward's mind, I will have to ask you to leave," the Professor said stepping in. "When I asked last night, the two of you said you intended to stay in Magneto's employ. Can I assume you have not changed your minds over night?"

"Yes, you can," Emma said with narrowed eyes.

"Then aside from the breach of privacy, please understand my need to assure that you are not here simply to collect information. Given the circumstances, I believe, asking you to refrain from using your powers is not unreasonable," the Professor said.

"No, it's not," Graydon said quickly as he turned to Emma.

'So, you're agreeing with him,' Emma asked Graydon incredulously.

'Em, he just found out yesterday that's we're partly responsible for his kidnapping. That we sat back and did nothing while he and his whole family were being held captive-'

'While we were being blackmailed by Magneto too-'

'And we're still choosing to work for him. We're still the enemy. He's wary of having an enemy telepath in his home,' Graydon thought.

"Fine," Emma said defensively as she stood up. "I'll see you back at the hotel," she said as she started to march off.

"Em, that's not what I meant," Graydon asked as he stood up after her. "I want you here. I want you to meet him too," he said as he took hold of her hand. He spun her around to face him. "I'm sorry. You know how delicate this all is. I don't want to be banned from seeing my siblings again, okay?" he asked. She sighed.

"Graydon, of course, that's okay," Emma said.

'I know asking you to not to use your powers is like not asking you not to breath. So, you can read my mind all you want. But please while we're here; just read mine, okay, Em?' he asked. She sighed.

'Fine,' she thought as they two of them turned around to go back into the kitchen. '...I'm not apologizing,' she declared.

'I didn't ask you to,' he thought as they sat down. "Sorry about that," he said to Rogue and the others.

'You shouldn't have either,' she reprimanded.

"Sorry, for snapping at ya, Emma," Rogue said; Graydon noticed Emma was surprised by the apology. "Having privacy's kinda a big deal for me right now," she said.

"...I understand," Emma said.

"Rogue, if it's alright with anyone present, I would like to continue discussing-" Charles Xavier started to say before Hank McCoy came into the room with a phone in his hands.

"It's Magneto," Hank McCoy informed them all dryly.

Rogue stood up with a sigh and reached out for the phone. Rogue saw Mr. McCoy look to the Professor; her gaze turned as well. The Professor hesitated for a moment before nodding. She took the phone from Mr. McCoy and put it to her hear.

"Ya can't meet tonight, can ya?" Rogue asked. She noted surprise in the Professor's gaze.

"Rogue, if he-" the Professor started to say before Rogue put her fingers up against her lips.

"Please," she mouthed to all of them as Magneto said,

"I know this is not what we agreed upon."

'Let me handle this,' she told the Professor as Magneto said,

"But please try to understand," he started to say as the Professor nodded at her again.

"Oh, I understand alright. I'd go into detail about how much I understand but I got people sitting in front of me that you would rather didn't know those details. So, I'll keep them to myself, assuming" she buffed. She hadn't looked into the details but she knew that no matter what his meeting was about he wouldn't want the Professor to know the details, "we can both agree that Saturday would be the best day to reschedule this meeting. Did you pass that message along to Victor?" she asked.

"...Yes, yes I did," he said; surprised by the question.

"Thank you for doing that. I really appreciate it, Max. I'm gonna call Victor and see if he wants to gets dinner on Friday. So, that's why this has to wait till Saturday," she explained.

"...Very well," Max said.

"Okay," she said with a smile. "So, you'll see me and talk to me again on Saturday," she said as she glanced around the room. "And not a moment fucking sooner," she commanded in German. There was a long pause.

"...You have my word," he said also switching to German.

"You better keep that promise, Max, cause I'm going to check," she told him.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"You heard me," she told him. "For too long I have sat by and assumed that you have kept your promises. But this is too damn important. I need to know I'm not being watched all the time. I need to know that I have privacy. I need to know that I actually have my freedom. That this is not just another facade you're setting up to get you're way," she said. She paused for a moment given him a chance to speak but he chose not too. So, she went on.

"This morning I looked into some of your ideas about training my powers. If your serious about half of them then I am going to need to absorb someone during practice. We both know that you would not mind it being you. That you would prefer it was you," she said.

"You wish to make your training a condition of the truce?" he asked curiosity.

"You don't?" she asked.

"I hadn't thought about it as of yet," he told her.

"Well, I have," she said.

"Extensively?"

"Getting there. Just give me a few more hours alone..." she said. She heard him open his mouth to speak. "And before you get any ideas you already gave me your word that after this phone call you would not speak or see me again until Saturday. So, unless you are willing to destroy all that work you put into regaining my trust, the negotiations for the truce will not be happening until then. Unless you're prepared to have it right now. I can put you on speaker phone?" she asked; although she already knew the answer.

"Anna, my meeting starts in half an hour. I do not have time," he said annoyed.

"I guess it is going to have to wait then," she said with a smirk. He sighed. Her smiled faded. All this time they had been playing games with on another. She would lying if she claimed not to have enjoyed them but at the moment they were unnecessary and there was something she wanted to know. A question she couldn't ask the fragment in her mind and get, without a doubt, the correct answer to. She took a deep breath.

"...You do realize I am just going to keep getting better at this, right?" she asked seriously as she retook her seat. There was a long pause from him.

"...That thought has crossed my mind more than once this past week," he admitted. "Although, I'm hardly surprised by your progress. Since the first, I've known what your mental capabilities are. I could not be more proud you and what you've accomplished thus far," he said.

"Thus far?" she repeated thoughtfully. "So, you still want to teach me more strategical principals?"

"You're the one who requested to make your training a condition of the truce," he pointed out.

"Training for my powers; not strategy," she clarified.

"I hardly see the difference. You're abilities are so rooted within the art of the strategy I could scarcely see the point of even attempting to teach one without the other," he said.

"Even if giving me that knowledge would make you more vulnerable?" she asked. He chuckled. "Don't laugh, we both know just how much power I have over you, Max-" she started to say.

"Which would be on par with the degree of control I have over you," he interjected.

"And you would still wanna teach me strategy?"

"And you would still like to let me touch you?" he asked as she felt her breath caught in her throat. She quickly stood up and turned her back on the Professor's and others as she felt her face blush.

"Rogue are you-" she heard Graydon start to ask.

"She's fine," Emma answered for her.

"Rogue, I'm going to have to insist that you end that phone call, now," the Professor said strongly. She heard Magneto huff in annoyance as she took a deep breath.

"My girl, I am letting you know this fact, right now; I refuse to ask Charles' permission to see you," he said. "If he even attempts too-"

"No more threats," she shouted out desperately in English. She knew the Professor wouldn't allow her to continue much longer if she had persisted speaking in German. "You're done threatening my family. That's non-negotiable. If you can't agree to that then we might as well go back to fighting," she said strongly.

"Neither of us want that," Magneto said.

"No shit," Rogue exclaimed as she sat back down. She ran her hand though her hair as she took deep. Her plan was already made up in her mind. She hadn't expected to tell either Magneto or the Professor the full details of it until Saturday but now it seemed necessary to inform them both.

"Fuck, this is gonna take hours. Do you realize how much shit the two of us need to talk about? I mean, you mentioned writing out a list of things I know about you that you don't want me ta tell anyone else. And in exchange for my silence you're gonna agree to a list of stipulations in both mine and the x-men's best interest. That's the basis for the truce we're gonna make, right?" she asked Magneto as she glanced up at the Professor. She took the phone away from her ear and quickly switched it to speaker phone.

"...Yes, I suppose," Magneto said as the Professor nodded in agreement thoughtfully. "As I told you before, I haven't had time to fully contemplate the conditions of the truce. I assumed we were going to wait until tonight to even consider the terms," he said.

"Right, 'cause you were busy with your business dealings, and you assumed that Prof would be busy learning everything he could about what's been going on. So, who would've had time to think about the terms yet?" she asked. Rogue watched the Professor raise an eyebrow at her. "Aside from me... this morning... for about three hours straight," she said.

"Three fill hours," Magneto repeated back in a groan.

"Ah fuck, I just remembered. I can't believe this slipped my mind for so long but Victor's busy on Friday. We can't get dinner that night. Fuck, I guess it's gonna wait till next week. I mean, unless ya wanna wait till Sunday-" she started to ask with a smirk.

"Not a chance in hell, Anna Marie. I've blindly given you enough of an advantage as it is," Magneto said. "... Manipulative wench," he added under his breath.

"Well, whose fault is that?" Rogue asked with a laugh.

"Mine, I suspect," he said before chuckling slightly. "Do you have access to a laptop?" he asked suddenly.

"No, I don't" she said.

"I'll send you one sometime today," he said.

"Okay, so I'll have a copy of the draft for the truce typed up by Saturday," she said.

"Assuming you get that far. Get as much done as you can, but for the love of God, Anna, take care of yourself in the process," he commanded lightly.

"I already ate today and I've lost count how many hour I've slept this week," she said.

"Good," he said. "It's not healthy the way you were neglecting yourself," he said as she rolled her eyes. "You can roll your eyes all you like, my girl. But the fact remains that you blacked out because of your self-imposed neglect and there's no reason for that to happen again," he lectured.

"Okay, okay," she said quickly. "So, I can print the draft out in your office at the restaurant. Enough copies for you, me, and Prof?" she asked changing the subject.

"...My thoughts exact-," he said before pausing. She smirked.

"Sucks, doesn't it? Knowing you're gonna be present for something really important, but because of circumstances out of your control you won't remember any of it,"she said pointedly. He sighed.

"As much as I would love to further have my ego torn asunder, I do have a meeting to prepaid for," he said.

"Saturday, two a'clock," Rogue reminded him.

"And not a moment fucking sooner," he said. She laughed softly. "Till then, my love," he said in German.

"Bye, Max," she said in English with a smile as she hung up the phone; slightly disappointed that he had to end the call.

Okay, that's it for this chapter! I hoped you all enjoyed it! Please review! :)