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Taunting Repartee
Chapter Fifty-Two
Rogue's eyes slowly opened as she let out a yawn.
'Wonder how long I was asleep for,' she thought to herself as she sat up. She glanced around the room. There was no sign of Max. She got off of the bed and exited the room. "Max?" she called out as she made her way down the hall.
She received no answer. As she made her way downstairs she was surprised by the natural light coming in through the windows. "Its morning?" she asked herself confused. 'Fuck! Why'd he let me sleep so long?' she asked annoyed as she ran towards the kitchen. 'Prof, must be so fucking worried right now,' she thought anxiously as she entered the kitchen. She picked up the phone and dialed.
"Xavier Institute," Kitty answered.
"Hey, Kitty. Prof, around?" she asked.
"Hold on a second. I'll go find him," her roommate said. "So, like, were you out all night with Magneto?" Kitty asked with mirth.
"God, I wish. I fell asleep on Max as soon as we got here. I just woke up," Rogue answered. 'What time-' she started to ask herself as she glanced at the clock on the wall: it read eight-fifty-two.
"So, that's totally a yes," Kitty said.
"It doesn't count if I slept the whole time," she told her roommate as she exited the kitchen: determined to find Max.
"You sound bummed," she commented.
"A little," Rogue sighed as she searched the ground floor. "I don't wanna wait another week to spend some time with him," she said. He wasn't in his study.
"Aww," Kitty said. "Like, still kinda creepy, but also aww," she said with a giggle. Rogue smiled with a short laugh. At least she had one person at the institute she could talk about Max with.
"Thanks for understanding, Kitty," she said as she made her way upstairs.
"Hey, like, what are friends for?" she asked. Rogue smiled at that.
'He wasn't allowed to turn on the inhibitor field without my consent. So, he must've fallen asleep in one of the spare bedroom?' she asked herself as she begun from the first bedroom at the top of the stairs.
'Seems perfectly logical to me,' the fragment of Magneto commented as Rogue heard knocking through the phone as she got to the bedroom she had slept in during her last stay in Jericho. Inside she saw Max sleeping on the bed: in nothing but his boxers. She quietly closed the door. He had allowed her to get a full night's rest. She was willing to return the favor.
"Hold on. I think I found him," she said as Rogue heard a door being knocked through the phone. "Professor?" Kitty asked as she headed back down the hallway. "…It's Rogue," she said as she got to the staircase and sat down on the top step. She sat there waiting for a minute or so.
"….Thank you, Kitty," she heard the Professor say as he took the phone. "Rogue, are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm okay," she said. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine. Just tired," he sighed.
"Ya didn't get a lot of sleep last night," she mumbled mostly to herself.
"No, I did not," he answered regardless.
"Prof, I'm sorry. I can only imagine the thoughts that ran through your head when I didn't come home. Honestly, I didn't mean ta spend the night. I mean, I knew how tired I was but I just closed my eyes for a second and I was out," she said.
"It's alright," Charles said with a sigh. "When we you be leaving?" he asked.
"After Max wakes up," she said as before the Professor let out a sigh.
"Rogue, is there a car there?" he asked.
"No, there ain't," she answered.
"Could you absorb Magneto? Fly home?" he asked. Rogue took a deep breath.
"I don't know how long I'd have to hold on for the absorption to last long enough to get me home," she reasoned. That wasn't the only reason she wasn't willing to do it but that was the only reason the Professor would care about.
"I see," he said. "What is the address? I'll come pick you up myself," he said.
"Prof, I can't reveal the location of any building Max owns without his consent. It's in the truce," she reminded him.
"So, you're trapped there," he said annoyed.
"No, I ain't," she insisted. "I could walk home, or I could walk just far enough and call myself a cab. Or I could go and wake Max's ass up. And I'll do that in like a half hour if he ain't awake by then. I could call Victor and ask him to drive me ta Bayville. There are a lot of strategies I could use to leave if I wanted to," she told him. She listened to the Professor let out a sigh.
"Rogue-" he started to protest.
"Look, I'm sorry I accidently spent the night but I wanna spend a little time with him… I'll be back on time for our meeting at two o'clock, I promise," she said. They both knew she wasn't asking. She was simply telling him what was going to happen.
"Rogue, we need to talk about this. I know the stress you have been under and I have tried to be understanding. But there are limits to what I can allow you to get away with. A teenager in my care staying out all night with a man three times their age is one of those things," he said.
"Prof, it was an accede-" she started to protect.
"We'll talk about it when you get home," he said sternly. "Please call when you are about to leave," he said.
"Okay," she said before he hung up the phone. 'I am never gonna hear the end of this, when I get back,' she thought to herself before she pushed the thought out of her mind. She would deal with that later, when she was in front of the Professor.
'So, now what?' the fragment asked.
'I don't kno-' she started to say annoyed before a thought came to mind. 'If I'm gonna get yelled at anyway I might as well make the crime worth the lecture, right?' she asked with a small smile.
'I suppose so,' the fragment chuckled: seeing what her idea was.
'Max, where's your inhibitor field?' she smirked.
Magneto let out a soft moan as he felt a hand upon his face.
"Max," Anna's sweet voice called out to him tenderly. "Max," she asked again, beckoning him to consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes to see his girl's face mere inches away from his: a gentle smile on her face as she caressed his. "Good morning," she said.
"Good morning," he mumbled; closing his eyes again. She let out a soft laugh at his slurred greeting.
"Thank you for being so understanding yesterday," she said before he felt her lips on his. He let out a groan as she pulled back a moment later.
"Of course," he mumbled before opened his eyes hardly believing his own eyes. Anna was sitting in front of him in nothing but a black bra and underwear. He closed his eyes again.
"You better not be going back ta sleep, Max," she said.
"That's assuming I'm not asleep at the moment," he mumbled.
"Why? This too good to be true?" she asked with a laugh as he felt her pulled his bowers down and off. Had he felt that right? Had she just-
"Honestly, yes," he mumbled as he opened his eyes again. Indeed, he was now naked by her hand. He let his gaze roam over her body: taking in the sight of her.
"It's not," she smirked as she took hold of his cock. His eyes closed as she began to stoke him. "And you ain't dreaming, Max," she said before he felt her lips on his again: his hand cupped her cheek. She let out a soft moan as she deepened the kiss; her tongue exploring his mouth. "…I'll prove it to ya," she said before he pulled her mouth back to his as his free hand moved to her body: touching her as he pleased. She let out a soft moan at his caresses.
She pulled away from his mouth a few moments later and moved to his ear.
"It's my turn to seduce you, Max," she whispered in his ear; all the while her hand still stoking his cock.
"Anna, I assure you I am already aroused," he uttered before she kissed him again.
"Give me five minutes and I'll have ya redefining the word," she whispered as she stared into his eyes. He watched in amazed anticipation as she moved down to his neck. He let out a groan as she bit his neck: her free hand running up and down his body. She left a soft kiss where she had bitten him before she started to move down his body: kissing his skin along the way.
He let out a hiss as he felt her tongue on the tip of his penis; licking him. His breaths were coming so fast now as his hands brushed her shoulders. He wanted to touch her but down there she was just out of his reach.
"Would you be willing to turn around, my girl?" he asked. She let out a soft laugh.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked with a smirk.
"Dear, god, I hope so," he uttered. She laughed as she turned to sit on him: her back facing him. She resumed touching and licking his member as he reached out and grabbed at her hips. He pulled her closer to him as she took him into her mouth. "Anna," he gasped. How long had it been since anyone had given him this? He let out a gasp as she removed her mouth.
"It ain't polite ta try and think of someone else in bed," Rogue reprimanded; with mirth in her voice.
"Apologizes, Anna," he uttered quickly; despite her tone. "It won't happen again, my love," he said before her kissed the back of her thigh. She let out an amused sigh before she, thankfully, returned his cock to her mouth. He eyes closed as he softly rubbed her through her underwear. She let out a moan at the contact as she took in more of his width than she had before: his eyes rolled back. He allowed himself to enjoy the feel of her mouth for a few moments; his eyes closed in utter satisfaction. "I cannot believe this is the first time you're doing this," he mumbled.
She let out a short laugh before she said, "Well, you know what happens when I put my mind ta something," she said jokingly. He chuckled. "I quickly become an expert in any field of my choosing," she said as he slipped his figures under her underwear and into her. She let out a moan as she pushed herself into his hand.
"Thank you for choosing this one," he said as she continued to stoke his cock.
"My pleasure, Max," she mumbled blissfully as he kissed the skin just below her opening: his figures thrusting inside of her.
"Give me five minutes and I'll have you redefining the word," he quoted with a smirk as he pulled her underwear to the side: giving himself more room to kiss. He smiled as he heard her let out a laugh at his comment. He held her open with his figures thrusting his tongue inside of her before her laugh turned into a gasp.
They continued to touch each other: letting out moans in turn for a few minutes until she let out a passion filled scream. He kissed her mount as her scream simmered down to a whimper. He moved his hands to her waist: her hand leaving his member as he gently pushed her onto her back.
He listened to her sharp breaths as he reached over to the nightstand. Taking out a condom: he took a moment to put it on as their eyes met. The relaxed smile on her face was making all his patients worth the effort he had put forth. He climbed back onto the bed. She sat up as he leaned in to kiss her. They deepened the kiss as he reached around her back and unclasped her bra.
He helped her remove the bra: discarding it to the floor before he cupped her breasts. She moaned into his mouth as she took hold of his member: stoking him again.
"I want you inside me," she whispered. He groaned as he pushed her back onto the bed. He didn't need to be told twice. He pulled her underwear off of her. He threw them out of his hand: not bothering to look where they landed as he climbed on top of her.
He held himself up with his elbows as she looped her arms around his neck. She pulled him down for a kiss as he took hold of his member, positioning it. She let out a moan as he entered her. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he was thrusting into her. Each moan that escaped her mouth only fueled him more.
After a few minutes she pulled him closer to her before pushing his side. He took the hint and took hold of her: turning them over until he was on his back. She smiled down at him as she took hold of his member. He let out a moan once he was again inside of her. Moving his hands to her waist, he closed his eyes as she rode him.
Minutes later he let out one last groan as he came. Her high pitched moan soon followed. She lifted herself slightly: taking his member out of her before he felt her collapse against his chest. He listened to both of their sporadic breaths as he ran his figures through her hair.
Slowly, their heart rates and breathing regulated.
"That was-" he started to say after a long moment.
"A nice way to wake up?" she asked with a smile as their eyes met. He let out a chuckle.
"Most definitely, my love," he agreed with a grin. He watched her lift herself up slightly: bring her lips to his as he took hold of the back of the neck.
They pulled away from each other a few moments later as he rubbed the back of her neck.
"I did promise you a back rub," he said with a smirk as he watched her gaze over his shoulder.
"I wish we had the time," she sighed regretfully. He turned to see what she was looking at: the clock read eleven- twenty- three. "I promised Prof I'd be back at the institute before two. I wanna make good on that promise," she told him: he could see the conviction in her eyes. "Can I get a rain-check on the backrub?" she asked with a smile.
"Of course," he said as he released the back of her neck.
"Thank you," she said before she gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Do ya mind if I get in the shower first?" she asked as she got off of him: sitting on the bed still.
"We could save time and water if we took one together," he suggested with a smirk as he sat up.
"Yeah," she grinned as she glanced back at him, "but, Max, I don't think I gonna be able to control myself," she started to say as he laughed. "… I gotta time limit today," she said seriously.
"We're always going to have a time limit as long as you're willing to summit yourself to someone else's authority," he muttered absentmindedly. She looked away from him a moment: her eyes growing distant.
"I know," she said a moment later. "That's the price of being in a family. You're accountable to others," she shrugged before her eyes grew distant yet again. The expression on her face grew dark: as she gazed past him. "Anna, what is it?" he asked concerned. "Anna?" he asked loudly.
"Nothing," she mumbled before shook her head, letting out a sigh. "Nothing concerning you, Max," she said as she met his gaze again. "But god now, I really need a shower," she mumbled to herself as she pulled away from him. He let her hand slip of his, puzzled by her behavior. 'Is she hiding someth-?' he started to ask in disbelief as he watched her with unease. She entered the bathroom, closing the door behind her. 'It's probably just a memory she had to fight to keep back. Explaining what she had seen would only cause her more discomfort. Of course, she simply brushed it off,' he told himself: shaking his head at his folly.
An half an hour later Max was in the kitchen, heating up their dinner from the night before. They had agreed there was no reason to let the food go to waste: they needed to eat after all. He had gotten out of the shower himself about ten minutes ago. Anna Marie was still drying her hair.
He turned when he heard someone entering the room.
"What's wrong?" he asked in response to the look on Rogue's face.
"Huh?" she asked as her eyes refocused. "Oh, I ain't looking forward to the lecture I'm gonna get when I go home, that's all," she told him. "You sure you don't want any help with anything?" she asked: changing the subject.
"I'm certain, please sit, relax," he said as he turned back to the oven. "It was an accident on your part," he said as he looked inside the oven examining the food. It still needed a few minutes.
"I already explained that," she sighed as he heard her sit down. "And I'm gonna have ta say it again," she said annoyed. Max let out a snort.
"And here I thought saving Charles' life twice in the past few weeks would grant you a longer grace period," he said.
"You'd think," she said dryly. "Apparently, staying out all night with you was the final straw. He can't sit by and allow the teenagers in his care to be out all night," she said mockingly.
"No, sitting by is just about all Charles can do," Max said as he walked over to the table.
"Max," she exclaimed slightly offended as he let out a chuckle.
"Am I wrong?" he asked as he down across from her.
"He does more than nothing," she defended.
"Oh, yes, I nearly forgot. He enjoys meddling in situations that are none of his business: for example, our sex life," he said.
"His opinion ain't gonna change anything between us," she told him.
"Again," Max added. Her eyes narrowed at that.
"If I don't get to bring up any of the bullshit from the past then why the fuck should you get to?" she asked annoyed. He didn't have a response to that: at least he was not quick enough to avoid her next statement. "I'm a hell of a lot stronger than I was two months ago: mostly cause of you. And I will never allow anyone to make me go along with something I don't agree with," she said: he could see the passion behind her eyes, hear it in her voice.
"If I wanna have sex with you, then I'm gonna. If I want nothing ta do with you: then we will never speak again. I might summit myself to Prof's authority-" she said before cutting herself off. "Well, kind of-" she added with shrug. "Okay, not really," she admitted. "Not lately, but can ya blame me?" she exclaimed. "I didn't trust him to call the shots. You gotta know what the fuck is going on- you have ta be informed before you can be trusted to make the kind of decisions I made for all of us. And that's the problem," she sighed.
"I've made them. Cause of me we're all safe from you, and I know Prof has got to be feeling that or else he wouldn't be getting so worked up over one sleepover, right?" she asked.
"Perhaps," Max answered before she let out a sigh in frustration. "He isn't angry with you, Anna. You do realize that, don't you?" he asked as she met his eyes. "How could he be?" he asked with a smile.
"I know, he's anger at himself," she sighed.
"Helplessness has the tendency to inspire self pity, and fear," he said. "Which often turns to anger and hate," he said.
"Thank you, Yoda," she said rolling her eyes as he raised an eyebrow.
"Who the hell is Yoda?" he asked. She stared at him incredulously before she let out a soft laugh.
"Ya know, Max, considering part of your plan is to influence society on an international level: you might wanna learn a few things about its cultures. How else are ya gonna understand how you're actions are gonna effect people if you don't understand them?" she asked.
"I know plenty enough about huddled masses, Anna. Besides, who needs to understand the human mind when you have an elite team of telepaths?" he asked with a smirk. She rolled her eyes as he stood up.
"All I'm saying is it wouldn't hurt ya ta watch a few movies," she said as he walked over to the oven and looked inside. Yes, the food was done now.
"No, thank you," he said dryly as used his powers to open the oven and levitate the pans of pasta and garlic bread over to the table. "Can we change the subject?" he asked as he saw her rolling her eyes again. He picked up her plate and began serving her.
"Sure," she huffed.
"Actually, I do have a question for you," he said as he put down her plate.
"Yeah?" she asked as he picked up his plate to serve himself. She reached out and picked up a piece of garlic bread.
"Would you like a cellular phone?" he asked. She raised an eyebrow at the question as she took a bite. He put his plate back on the table before he picked up his fork. "I give one to everyone on my team," he said as she picked up her fork and took her first bite. "I thought you might like to have a means to contact who-ever you please on your person at all times," he said before he took his first bite.
"I would," she said after a moment; still deep in thought. "But can it wait till Saturday? I already got enough ta deal with today with Prof. I don't wanna add this on top of everything else," she explained.
"I still have to purchase the device so I doubt that will be a problem," he smirked.
"Okay," she said with a soft laugh before they fell into silence as they ate. As usual their silence was comfortable. He hardly minded the lack of conversation and merely enjoyed the fact that he wasn't eating alone. "…I just realized something," she said after a moment.
"Yes?" he asked as he reached out her his second piece of garlic bread.
"We've never had a pointless conversation," she said. He raised an eyebrow at the comment. "Pretty much every conversation we've ever had has been about something important-"
"Why would we discuss something unimportant?" he asked puzzled.
"Hear me out," she said.
"Please," he said gesturing for her to continue.
"So, when we first started talking, it was all about my powers or you trying to get me to distrust Prof. Then we met in person and it was all about all the fucking hostage situations and threats," she said rolling her eyes before she took a bite of food. "But with the truce done, we're finally pasted all that bullshit," she said with a smile. "We know when we're getting together next so we don't need to plan that. You have any more questions for me, Max?" she asked.
"Not at the moment, no," he answered.
"And I don't have any for you," she said. "So, what do we talk about?" she asked with smile.
"What would you like to talk about?" he asked.
"I don't know," she sighed.
"What do you and friends usually talk about?" he asked.
"Just stuff," she shrugged. "Homework, whatever we watched on tv the night before, how much we all hate Logan's training session," she said with a smirk. "Me and Risty used ta go ta the movie-," she said before she stopped herself. "What?" she asked.
He raised an eyebrow.
"What-"he started to ask.
"That look on your face when I brought up Risty," she said. No, he couldn't let her find that out today. She was in such a good mood. It might cause her- "Yeah that one," she said. "What about her?" she asked confused.
"How do I look precisely?" he asked.
"Disgusted. I didn't think ya had anything against the British," she said: half jokingly.
"I don't," he answered; it would be pointless to lie, she would only find out later.
"People with purple hair?" she asked.
'Like Bes-' he thought to himself before his eyes widened. No, he couldn't mention Elisabeth Braddock. She was the last person on the face of the planet he should mention. "Hardly, my girl," he laughed.
"Uh, huh," she said suspiciously as she stared at him. Most people would be fooled by the false laugh but Rogue was clearly not one among them. She knew him too well. He needed to change the subject before she asked- "So, it's just Risty then? What do you have against her?" she asked. He merely held his gaze as he tried to think of way out of the conversation.
"Alright, fine," she exclaimed. "I get it. Both of you really don't wanna answer that question," she said.
"The fragment?" he asked.
"Yeah, he asked me ta drop it. Said I didn't need this today," she said.
"You don't" he agreed. "Please trust me on this?" he asked. She stared at him for a moment.
"… Is Risty okay?" she asked seriously. It was a fair question: the last time the girl had seen Risty it had been in his custody.
"Yes, I know it for a fact that she is fine. You have my word that is the truth," he answered.
"… Fine," she huffed. He let out a sigh of relief. "It's that bad?" she asked annoyed.
"Yes," he answered. She let out an annoyed sigh as she shook her head.
"I'll just put it on the list of shit I need ta ask about," she said annoyed. "It keeps getting longer," she said as she stabbed a piece of the pasta forcefully.
"I am sorry, Anna," he said. "But you need the time. You've needed the time for over a year. My dear girl, you have proved without a doubt that you have unrelenting strength: the resolve to see any situation through to its conclusions. Could you hear this news today without breaking? Of course," he said strongly. "But there is only so much one person should be expected to endure in a given amount of time. You have passed that threshold months ag-"
"Two weeks, Max," she said interrupting him. "I'm gonna ask you in two weeks," she told him.
"And I will answer you then, I promise," he said. She held his gaze.
"Okay…" she sighed before staring down at her plate again.
"… Ann-" he started to say.
"Max, I need a few minutes," she told him.
"Understood," he said.
Thank you for reading! :)