Sorry it's been so long everyone! Thank you so much for reading! I am not giving up on this fic. I'm about half through, I think… Not sure yet…
Please enjoy!
Taunting Repartee
Chapter Fifty-Nine:
Magneto laid on a blanket just outside the institute grounds. He glanced away from the peaceful night's sky down at his beloved. She had fallen asleep about ten or so minutes ago and now he was faced with a dilemma: wake her from the rest she desperately needed, or inform Charles of his presences.
Personally, he did wish to take either option. He had entered and exited the institute countless times without notice. He knew for a fact he could do so again but Anna would find out about his invasion next Saturday.
'And I'll never hear the end of it,' he thought with an annoyed sigh. The rules they had in place were, in his option, irritating. He wasn't used to having limitations being implemented against him, not in decades. 'The girl needs this,' he reminded himself yet again. 'She-'
His thoughts were cut off when Rogue's phone began to ring. He used his powers to bring the phone to his hand: answering it. "Charles?" he asked: who else would it be at this time of night. He heard the man let out a sigh.
"You can bring her inside now," Charles said: sounding annoyed.
"I'll be there in a moment," he said before hanging up.
Five minutes later Magneto gently lowered Rogue into her bed. Charles was by the door, supervising her return. Max couldn't help but roll his eyes at the predicament as he pulled a blanket over Rogue's body.
'Do you have any idea what time it is?' Charles asked annoyed.
'I'm well aware, Charles,' he answer dryly, Max said as he turned to face the man.
"Yet, you still came,' he chastised.
'She called me,' he said as he walked towards the door.
'That doesn't mean you should have come,' Charles said asMagneto gently closed the door to Rogue's room behind him.
'I will not deny her,' Max said. He started to walk down the hall; done with the conversation.
'She's a teenage girl: on occasion they need to be denied a whim,' he said. Max stopped walking at Charles' statement. He didn't want to have another argument with the man, but he refused to allow that comment to go unaddressed.
'A whim?' he asked annoyed. He turned to face Charles with a look of disbelief on his own face. 'She didn't call me on a whim. She needed comfort, support. Should I have denied her that?' Max asked with anger.
'You are not the only one capable of giving her comfort,' Charles said as he moved closer to Magneto.
'You honestly think I'm unaware of that? I am someone she doesn't have to explain the situation to before she can receive support. I am the she called tonight. I gave her my word I would come to her if she asked. I will not break my word, no matter the inconvenience to whomever, not to Anna,' he said. Charles stared up at him in disbelief.
'I don't understand. Why are you giving her so much power?' Charles asked. 'She's a teenager and you're allowing her to dictateyour life,' he said.
'She's earned it,' he thought strongly before letting out an annoyed sigh. 'How many times must this be explained to you? How many times has Anna explained this to you? Do her words fall on deaf ears?' Do you actually want to understand?' he asked.
Charles eyes widened at the question. 'I have been trying,' Charles claimed defensibly. 'But talking to Rogue is difficult,'
'I'm certain that very sentiment is shared by Rogue regarding you,' Magneto said.
'Magnus, you don't understand' he exclaimed,' every word that comes out of her mouth is, in one way or another, a manipulation,' Charles said. 'She means what she says, but there's always a spin to it. She states it in such a way that I have no choice but to agree with her. Meer moments after we speak, when I come back to my senses, I can't believe what Rogue's managed to get me to agree to. How can I trust that?' he asked as he looked up at Magneto.
'Charles, you can't fault the girl for excelling at debate. If her arguments convince you every time then maybe her words are not the problem. Perhaps, your self-confidences is where the true issue lies,' he said.
'That is not the case. You've seen it, yourself. Once she decides she is going to do something then there is no talking her out of it. No matter the counter-argument,' he said.
'Are her decisions so unreasonable that she should be talked out of them?' Magneto asked. 'Are you that ungrateful for everything she has done for your x-men?' he asked. Charles eyes narrowed in anger.
'Now, see here-' Charles started to say.
'I recall the instance you are referring to, Charles,' Magneto said, refusing to allow him to speak. 'We both advised that she stop pushing back her feelings, face her aguish and work to put it behind her. She said not today. Is that really so unreasonable? It's her pain. Why should either of us get to dictate when she faces it?" he asked.
'Alright, on that, yes, I agree with you. But what of the other times? When she refused to get some rest before finishing those blueprints-' he started to say.
'There are things you do not know about that night,' he said.
'Such as?' Charles asked.
'I had the fragment of myself altered,' Magneto begun to say.
'Yes, Rogue told me. You took away her access to large chucks of information, by erasing them from the fragment's minds,' Charles said.
'Yes, precisely. Needless to say, Amelia's home for children was one of the things I was seeking to hide from her, at that time. When Rogue realized this, she panicked. She and I had an agreement at that point that she could not discuss any topic with you and yours that she and I had already had a conversation about. Amelia's, obviously, had never come up in conversation, hence she still had the freedom to speak about it with you, without going against our deal.'
'She had no idea when I would find out about her knowledge. She knew she had to tell you as much as she could as quickly as she could. That is why she was stubborn that night. That's usually why she is stubborn, because something of great importance is in jeopardy. Whether, you are aware of what it is or not, she is always acting in the best interest of your x-men and then herself. She always put herself second,' he added. 'Much to my annoyance,' he added.
'What is that supposed to mean?' Charles asked.
'Just that, Charles,' Magneto said before he started walking again. Charles followed after him, needing to take the lift himself. Magneto surprised him when he ceased walked again. Magneto turned to glance at Charles. 'You do realize what the real issue is here, don't you?' he asked. Charles raised an eye brow at the man's question as Magneto turned once again to face him.
'Why don't you enlighten me?' he asked mockingly. Magneto chuckled softly.
'Very well,' he said with a smile. 'The issue here Charles, is that you have an image in your mind of what a teenager in your care is supposed to be. Young, naive, sexually inactive, obedient to you and those whom you give authority to within your household. Rogue is none of these of things. Since she is constantly defying that image, you think she is the one who needs to modify her behavior to better suit the image you believe she must adhere too. But, what you need to understand, Charles, is that she is not a child. The responsibilities she has assumed, the things she has witnessed. All of these things have made her an adult far faster than your other charges. There is nothing wrong with Rogue or her behavior in this regard,'
'You asked me why I allow her to dictate parts of my life. The answer again is she has earned it. She has fought me as an equal and won, Charles. On more than one occasion she has beaten me,' he said; his eyes lite up with pride. 'She is my equal, Charles, and I treat her accordingly. She is your equal as well. Not your student, hardly your ward, and not inferior, or subordinate to you in any way. Once you are able to accept that fact, then and only then will there be peace between the two of you,' Magneto said before he turned around and walked into the lift.
'And that's about all I have to say on the matter. At least for tonight,' Magneto thought to him as the door to the elevator closed far quicker than they should have.
Charles moved down the hallways of the institute the next morning, about an hour before his students needed to leave for school. He glanced down the hall and saw that Ororo was entering one of the gyms. He moved closer to the door when he started to overhear a conversation..
"Rogue, Logan, good morning," Ororo said.
"Good morning," Rogue and Logan said within a moment of each other. He glanced inside the doorways for a quick moment. He had seen Rogue taking out some anger on a punching bag. Logan was holding the bag for her, standing behind it, keeping it steady. Ororo was sitting on one of the benches.
"Rogue, can I ask about what happened yesterday?" Ororo asked.
"Irene contacted her," Logan answered.
"Did she threaten you?" Ororo asked alarmed.
"Yup," Rogue answered bitterly as she continued to punch. Logan let out a soft growl under his breath. "Like I told Logan yesterday, I really," she started to say in between punches, "don't feel like going over it again. I already told Prof, most of it," she told them.
'Most of it?' Charles asked himself.
"We must find Irene," Ororo said, "Before she has a chance to enact her threats," she said.
"I already got people on it," Rogue said. Charles raised an eyebrow at the statement.
"Magneto's people?" Ororo asked.
"Yeah," Rogue answered.
"Heh," Logan chuckled. "Guess this truces is good for something," he said.
"Give it a few months. Once Max gets used to the restrictions he's agreed to, we won't be calling it a truce anymore. It'll just be another one of his alliances," she said. "Personally, I can't wait for that to happen," she said.
"Kid, none of us are gonna be willing to start doing things for Magneto," Logan said.
"That ain't what I'm going for, Logan. He doesn't need the x-men to follow his commands. He got more than enough people already. I just want the x-men officially off his list of enemies. Everything else can stay the way it is," she said.
"Except you are Magneto's second in command. That has changed," Ororo pointed out.
"Honestly, considering what I'm up against with Irene, having those resources at the push of a button is kind of comforting. Makes me feel like I stand of chance at keeping her from getting what she wants from me," she said.
"Which is?" Ororo asked.
"I have no fucking idea," Rogue said annoyed as she punched the bag. "But if the price of those resources are a couple of afternoon interrupted by an emergency that I gotta go take charge of, than I'm okay with that. I'm willing to be that person," she said.
"Rogue, is there anything we can do to help?" Ororo said.
"Just keep doing what you've been doing. Ya all, know I can't tell you everything. And sometimes, I just don't want to. Please, just- keep being as understanding as ya have been. If ya all can do that for me, I'll be okay. I mean- The support I've been getting for everyone has been one of the only things keeping me going. As long as I have that, I think I'll be okay," she said between punches. "Thanks again for the hand wraps," she said.
"Anytime, kid. Just let me know when you wear out this pair. I got more," he said.
"I will," she said. Charles let out a soft sigh as he removed away from the door. He decided for the moment not to comment on his and Magneto's conversation. Rogue had just asked, once again, for their understanding. He could do that for her. He the very least, he could try.
Very short chapter I know, but it's been forever so I'm giving you guys something to read. I have to go hardcore study for my exam now, I'm taking it in two weeks!
Thank you all for reading! And you thank you, for the lovely reviews!
I'll be back as soon as I can!
Next chapter will be Thursday April 4th 2002, a tale of two dinners!
See you soon! …ish…
On to review! I'm gonna start doing this again!
First off, thank you so much to all of you for reviewing, I'm so glad you all enjoying my fic and I really hope to keep getting your feedback and opinions!? Thank you!
Angelpaint07: Thank you! To answer your question, yes apocalypse will be a part of this story! This fan fic is going to be, pretty much, completely cannon to the show. Everything that happens in the fic capable of happening between scenes of the show So, you will see Rogue's reaction to him being mind controlled ;).
Marigab: lol, at your comment about Gambit. Ah, just wait! I noticed that too, with how Rogue feels more comfortable with Magneto's people as opposed to her 'Family.' That's true, but I hope this chapter served to show that the comfort level isn't completely off.
Mostly, it doesn't make sense to show all the scenes with Rogue relaxing with her family: watching tv, rides to school, meals where she didn't just learn something really depressing and she actually feels like having a conversation with Kurt, Kitty, or one of the others, etc. That would be mundane and not fun to read or write. I'll try to add a few more of those scenes, here and there (with a purpose, of course), but again, those scenes are mostly boring. But they do happen. A little bit.
Marigab, second review: Sorry it took me so long! I was bummed about X-men Legacy 274. Stupid ageism! Most people can't get over the image that Magneto's not an old man, but deaged to age 30! Until the comic book world can get over that Rogue/Magneto won't last long in mainstream comics, which is such a shame (No one cares if Wolverine date a 20 year old, even if he's OLDER than Magneto! AHH, don't get me started!) :deep breath: Anyone this couple will keep going in my fic at least! I will post again, soon ish
Puffxpeguin: Thank you! Yeah, that scene was very, "we're going to have a picnic at midnight?' o.O, But Rogue just didn't want to sit on the wet ground.
Sissiewest: Thank you! I couldn't end the chapter without them getting together I'm glad you liked it!
Syolie: I'm more than happy to be the cause of someone shipping Rogue/Magneto! I'm glad your enjoying it!
Blackfox Nightengale: Thank you for much! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll have more soonish
BasiaM82: Hey, no worries for the silence. Let me know when you get a change to read this! And please let me know if you want anymore feedback on your own story? I would love to help. It's sounds like a interesting story.
Frenchgurl: Sorry it took me so long! And thank you for enjoying my fic. I'll try to be better about it in the future, if my career will let me God damn bills! Why do I have to work 60 hour weeks to pay you?
Oh, and no worries about the typo. Honestly, I didn't even notice until your second review .
Zombie Pixel: Hi! Thanks for the review! I'm sure you got my PM, and yeah, your review got me to make time I didn't have to finish the chapter. And by finish, I mean finish half of it so you guys got at least 2000 words from me. Usually my chapters are about 4000 words, but I'm pressed for time, and I didn't want to wait any longer before giving you all, at least something to read! I hope to hear from you again.
That goes for everyone! Thank you again to everyone who reads and reviews!