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Taunting Repartee
Chapter Sixty-Five
Charles sat with Logan and Hank as Ororo and the girls, Rogue, Jubilee and Kitty, sat and meditated.
'Chuck,' Logan thought to him as he made eye contact. 'You can't let Magneto spend the night here,' Logan said.
'I have to agree with, Logan,' Hank thought.
'I have seen Rogue through many crisis' and this is by far the worst I have ever seen her, which is saying something,' Charles thought to them both. 'I don't like it any more than the two of you. But just being in the same room as Magneto puts Rogue at ease. That is what she needs tonight,' Charles thought.
'It's obscene,' Hank added.
'I don't plan on allowing them to sleep in the same bed,' Charles exclaimed. 'And most certainly not in the same room she shares with Kitty. We still have a few extra mattress. They'll take one of the spare rooms on the floor we sleep on. Not the student's sub-level,' Charles thought strongly. 'This is not going to be become a regular occurrence,' Charles tried to assure them as it seemed the girls were done with their meditation.
'Charles?' Magneto thought.
'Please come in, Magnus. We're in sub-level seven,' Charles said.
'I'll see you a moment,' Magneto said.
Rogue opened her eyes as they finished meditating. "How you holding up, sugar?" Rogue asked. Jubilee just shrugged.
"What did you mean when you said you got the X-Men off of Magneto's list of enemies?" Jubilee asked.
"Rogue worked to get us a truce with Magneto," Ororo answered.
"By wearing down his motivations till you changed his mind?" Jubilee asked.
"Yeah, Irene summed it up pretty well," Rogue said. "It took almost two months, but I managed to attack his motivations and the means he thought he needed to use. He knew what he was doing was wrong and I managed to convince him that there was a better way. That he didn't need the x-men to play the role that he thought they did," Rogue explained. "But that's not gonna work with Irene," Rogue said sadly as she stood up.
"We'll think of something," Ororo said.
"Totally," Kitty said optimistically.
"No, we won't," Jubilee said quietly. Rogue felt her heart skip a beat at the defeated tone in her voice. "You guys don't know her like I do. Like me and Rogue do. You've never lived with her. But I do think I'm little less scared than I was before," Jubilee said. "I trust you," she said to Rogue.
"I ain't gonna let you down," Rogue said strongly.
"I know," Jubilee smiled. "Xièxiè," Jubilee laughed.
"Bù kèqì," Rogue laughed. Jubilee continued to laugh before she let out a little sigh.
"I'm going to go wash my face and go back to pretending everything's okay," Jubilee said.
"I think everyone's was planning to watch a movie tonight," Rogue said.
"Yeah," Kitty said. "Romantic comedy," she smiled.
"Yeah, that's sounds prefect," Jubilee said as she stood up. "I'm going to go do that... after I get ice cream," Jubilee said. Rogue couldn't help but smile. "Ice cream always makes me feel better," Jubilee smiled as she stood up.
"That sounds so good right now," Kitty exclaimed as she got to her feet. "I mean unless-" Kitty started to say as Rogue got to her feet.
"You both don't need to be here while I explain things. As soon as I'm done I'm gonna go spend some time with Max and I'll get to relax too. He's my ice cream," Rogue said with smile.
"Nǐ xǐhuan tā de wèidào rúhé?" Jubilee asked, a small smirk on her face.
"What did you just say?" Rogue asked with a laugh.
"I don't think we want to know," Kitty giggled.
"Look it up," Jubilee smiled as Rogue let out a laugh. "Wǎn'ān," she said as she headed towards the exit.
"Good night?" Rogue asked.
"Yes, shì," Jubilee answered.
"Wǎn'ān," Rogue repeated as Jubilee headed out of the room.
"Good night," Charles said; it was followed with an echo from everyone else as Rogue took a seat at the table again: she made sure she sat where there were two empty chairs next to her. Ororo also rejoined them at the table, sitting next to her. "How are you feeling?" Charles asked.
"I'm calm right now. Meditation always helps me get to this state of mind. Thanks Ororo," she smiled.
Ororo just smiled back. "But I could break down again any minute," she said honestly. "I don't think I can handle anything else happening tonight," she told him.
"We'l-" Charles started to say until his thought were interrupted when Magneto entered the room. He had a small black duffel bag in his hand. Rogue let out a sigh of relief.
"Good evening, everyone," Max said before his eyes met hers.
"Good evening, Magnus," Charles said civilly. At least he was trying. Max let out a sigh as he looked at her.
"We'll talk later," Rogue said before he could say anything. Max nodded as he walked towards her. She stood up to meet him. She let out a little sigh as fell into his arms, her eyes closing as she rested her head against his chest. He held her against him, she really did love the feel of his arms around him. 'This is exactly what I needed,' Rogue thought to herself as she felt him kiss the top of her head.
After a moment she back away from his chest as she lifted her head up and brought her lips to his cheek. Rogue instantly felt more relaxed the moment their skin came into contact: his powers flowing into her. She closed her eyes as she felt all the metal humming around her. She didn't think Irene would bother talking to her again tonight, but now if Agatha tried anything she'd have some fire power: That alone lifted her spirits. She backed away from his face as she held onto his chest. She took a few deep breaths, just recomposing herself with a new sense of actually feeling safe.
She opened her eyes and looked at up at him. He stood, staring down at her, waiting.
"Thanks," she said with a smile.
"Always," Max said.
"Every time you say that," she said as she let out a happy sigh. She felt so relaxed, so safe in this moment in his arms.
"Yes?" he asked: his expression mirroring hers. He raised an eyebrow as he stared into her eyes. "We'll talk later," he repeated her words. She let out a sigh.
"Yes, we will," Rogue said: nodded as she backed out of his arms. They both took a seat as the table. "Okay," Rogue said after she took another deep breath.
"Rogue," Charles said interrupting her, "Perhaps, I should show everyone what happened? So, you won't have to relive it," Charles said.
"I believe that is an excellent idea," Max agreed. Rogue let out a sigh.
"Okay," Rogue said.
Later that night Magneto was getting settled in one of the spare closets, turned bedroom.
Max was making up one of the beds as Rogue was getting ready for sleep. She was in her room, grabbing clothes for the morning, brushing her teeth, etc. Charles was sitting beside the bed, a few pillows and blankets in his lap, as Max made up the bed.
'Magnus?' Charles thought to him.
'Yes, Charles?' Max asked as he put the sheet on the bed.
'There's something Rogue said to me earlier,' Charles started to say.
Yes?' he asked again.
'Rogue said she currently has to answer to three people: you myself and Irene,' Charles said.
'That sound accurate,' Max said.
'Rogue said one of us mentioned telepathic enslavement as a threat,' Charles said as Max made eye contact with the man. Charles handed him the blanket. 'Since we both know it wasn't me-' Charles started to say.
'Ironic, considering you're the only one of us who is actually capable of such a feat without assistant,' Max commented.
'Magnus, is there anything I don't know about Irene's threats or is was that threat one of the reasons why Rogue was so terrified of you?' Charles asked as Max spread the blanket over the bed. Max let out a sigh. Charles was actually in his mind, Max couldn't lie, although he wanted to.
'I am no longer making that threat, Charles, not to you nor to your X-Men,' Max commented as he gestured for the pillow.
'But you were going to?' Charles asked as he tossed the pillow at the man's chest: with more force than necessary. Magneto let the gesture go: Charles had the right to be angry, he knew. 'You were going to telepathically enslave me and my students to do your bidding?' he asked enraged as Max calmly placed the pillow on the bed.
'Anna, talked me out of it,' Max said before he let out a sigh as he gestured for another set of sheets. Charles did not hand them to him: he simply stared up at him: rage in his eyes. 'It was a tactic I should never have seriously considered: not against our fellow mutants,' he said. Charles didn't look convinced. 'So, what does it matter?' he asked slightly annoyed.
'What does it matter?' Charles asked in disbelief. 'You still have the means to telepathically enslave my students. That's why it matters. You could change your mind at any moment,' Charles yelled.
'Yes, and lose Anna in the process: which, as you well know, is something I am not willing to do,' Max yelled in kind.
'You could use the same tactic on Rogue,' Charles started to say strongly. Max stared down at the man in dubiety. Is fists balled by his side. He was beyond offended that Charles thought he would be willing to do that to his beloved.
'If I wanted a slave, perhaps. I don't want that for her. I never did. I love her,' he screamed in his mind. Charles stared at him wide eyed. 'You know, I'm telling the truth,' Max said. 'She deserves to be surrounded by people who will do anything in their power to see that she is happy, safe, and loved. I am striving to one of those people. She brings out the best in me and I adore her for it,' Max said.
'This isn't about you, Mangus,' he yelled. 'It's not about me either. It's about Rogue. We have to do what is right for her,'
'I know that, Charles,' Max yelled frustrated. "I'm trying," he yelled. Magneto took a deep breath before he took a seat on the bed, facing Charles. 'I will admit that in the past I have worked diligently to alter your view of me: to force you to see me as an enemy,' Max started to say.
'That is how I should have viewed you from the start,' Charles said.
'I am not a threat to you any longer. You act as through I am some vile monster, who lives only to make your life a living hell. Yes, in the past, I have used you and yours, but I have helped your X-Men as well,' Max said.
'How?' Charles asked mockingly.
'Who do you think has been funding this school of yours?' Max asked. Charles eyes widened.
'What?' he asked in shock.
'You're in my mind, Charles. Am I lying?' he asked. Charles stared at him for a long moment: clearly trying to compose himself.
'For how long?' Charles asked finally.
'From the start. All our talks in the hospital convinced me that mutant kind needed a public team, a beacon in the spotlight to show humanity the good we are capable of. When you started to build this school, I couldn't write the checks fast enough,' Max said.
'Which one are you?' Charles asked bitterly.
'Which contributor am I?' Max asked.
'Yes,' Charles said. 'So, I know who's checks to rip up,' he said with malice in his voice.
'All of them,' Max answered.
'That's not possible,' Charles said.
'Contributor's usually want something in exchange for their donations, don't they? Their name on a building or in a program. I've been getting a rather sizable tax right off thanks to my donations to your school. But aside from that, I've had a stage to map out human mutant relations- wait, you're right. Not all-' Max said cutting himself off. 'Since you took Anna in, Victor has been sending checks to your accountant,' Max said.
'I know. He didn't use an alias. The checks were actually in his name,' Charles said.
'Is Anna aware of this?' Max asked with a raised eyebrow.
'The first check came with a note: "Thank you for taking care of my daughter. Let me know if she needs anything else." There was an address listed. I showed Rogue, of course. She nearly started crying when I did. The idea that she had a caring parent was so foreign to her. We talked briefly about taking a trip to go see Victor together but then the next day he tried to kidnap her and some of the other students. Understandably, she didn't wish to talk to him after that. She thought the checks were just some ploy to learn the Institute's address and fight Wolverine,' Charles said.
'The very next day?' Max asked. 'Seems a little suspicious, don't you think?'
'Now, yes,' Charles exclaimed as they made eye contact. They were both thinking the exact same thing. 'It was probably Irene,' Charles through with a sigh.
'It was probably Irene,' Max repeated dryly.
'Something else to hurt her,' Charles thought 'When is this going to stop?' he asked himself frustrated.
'I don't know,' Max said sadly. 'Charles, I think we should leave this one alone for now. It's more of the same tactic Irene has used to keep Victor out of her life: which thankfully isn't the case anymore. I have a list of issues she and I need to talk about once she regains the desire to learn of her past. I 'll simply add this to that list,' Max thought.
'Very well,' Charles said before he let out a sigh and handed Max the sheets.
'Thank you,' Max said as he stood up
'I am at a complete lost, Magnus,' Charles started to say. 'It was difficult enough learning everything you had done in secret. I still don't know all of it, do I?' he heard Charles ask as he put the sheet on the second bed.
'I doubt you ever will,' Magneto said."Perhaps, it's for the best,"he muttered mostly to himself. 'All we can do now is offer Anna our support and try to find some means to help her. Anna, said it herself: she has no issue with learning the languages,' Max said as he put the blanket on the bed.
'But what will Irene ask of her next?' Charles asked alarmed.
'I don't know,' Max thought bitterly. 'We'll do what we can,' Max said.
'Have you had any luck locating Irene?' Charles asked.
'No,' Max said bitterly as he gestured for the pillow. 'This wouldn't be the first time she has disappeared for a prolonged period of time,' Max said as Charles threw it to him.
'When was the first?' Charles asked as Max put the pillow on the let out a sigh as he sat on the newly made bed.
'The night I brought Anna to Amelia's when she was a baby,' Max said as Charles eyes widened in shock.
'What?' the other man asked confused.
'Irene sent me to get Rogue, I was told she was an orphan already,' Max explained.
'But you found Rogue at the site of her mother's death,' Charles said.
'Yes, I brought Anna to Amelia's and demanded to speak with Irene. But she was already gone. I searched for her with all of the resources I had at my disposal, but I didn't see Irene again for nearly a year. I only found her because she wanted to be found. She wanted to raise Rogue herself,' Max said.
'And you let her?' Charles asked is disbelief.
'I needed Irene to find the orphans. Of course, I didn't trust her, but already she had a mental block in place that my best telepaths could not break. I had them spend two weeks trying. If I wanted to keep helping young mutants find loving homes I needed Irene's help. I had little choice but to allow her what she wanted in exchange for her services,' he finished.
'She manipulated you,' Charles said.
'Yes,' Max agreed bitterly.
'And now's she manipulating Rogue,' Charles said thought as Rogue entered the room: a bundle of clothes in her hands.
"Hey," Rogue said as she put her stuff on top of a small table, in the far left corner of the room.
'We still need to convince her not to go to school tomorrow,' Charles thought quickly.
'I agree. She can not handle the stress, nor should she force herself too,' Max thought.
"I'll call the school first thing in the morning as we discussed and get you transferred into that class," Charles started to say as Rogue crossed to the bed.
"Thanks, Prof," Rogue said as she sat down next to Magneto.
'I have an idea. If you'll follow my lead?' Max said.
'Go ahead,' Charles said.
"Anna, I know you said that you do not wish to miss another day of school, but I've already cleared my schedule for tomorrow. I could start teaching you Russian," Max said.
"I'm sure the two of you would be able to cover a lot of material in a day," Charles said.
"If I apply myself," Rogue muttered sadly. Max made eye contact with Charles again.
"Which all know you will," Max said. "You'll feel better once you have a grasp on at least one of the languages," Max said.
"That's a good idea," Rogue sighed. Max watched her eye shift back and forth between him and Charles. "Alright, fine," she exclaimed. "I'll stay home tomorrow. I know that's what you both are getting at," Rogue said. Max waited Charles let out a sigh in relief.
"I'm glad to hear it," Charles. "We'll talk more tomorrow, if you like," Charles said.
"Thanks," Rogue said.
"Good night," Charles said as she turned his chair around. Magneto resisted the urge to help him do so faster.
"Good night, Prof," Rogue said as Charles made his way to the door.
"Good night, Charles," he said as Charles exited the room. Magneto used his powers to the door behind the other man. Max said as he looked down at his girl. She looked exhausted. "Do you want to talk tonight or tomorrow?" he asked. He watched Rogue glance away from him for moment: thinking.
"Tomorrow," she sighed. "I'm beat," she said.
"I know," he said sadly as he put his hand on her shoulder. "You've had enough conversations for one day," he said. Rogue let out a sigh as she stood for a moment.
"You made up a second bed?" she asked with a small smile.
"It made Charles feel better," Max commented as he drew the blanket down. Max couldn't help but smile as he heard a soft laugh come from her. They both got onto the bed: Max drew the covers over them.
"Thank you for being here," Rogue said as she settled in by his side: her arm resting across his chest.
"Not at all," he said dismissively as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"Max," she said seriously as she placed her hand on his cheek. He allowed her to turn his face towards her till they made eye contact. "You do a lot for me. You're helping me with my powers. You rush to my side whenever I need you," she said as she slide her hand down to his chest. "You let me use your resources. You play nice with people we both know you don't really like. I just- I want you to know I don't take that for granted. I don't take you for granted. Thank you," she said earnestly. He stared down at her.
"I know you don't take me for granted, beloved," he said with a happy sigh. She smiled widely at that. "I love you so much," he said.
"I-" she started to say as he stared into her eyes.
'There's that look again,' he thought to himself: he saw love in her eyes.
"I-" she struggled to say again.
"Shh," he hushed gently. "You don't have to say anything," he whispered before he brought his lips to hers. She moaned softly against his mouth.
"You didn't bring an inhibitor field with you, did ya?" she asked in a whisper. He couldn't help but smirk.
"Afraid, not," he answered: his volume matching hers. "Are you certain you aren't too tired?" he asked.
"Well, yeah," she whispered as she moved to straddle his lap, "but if I'm gonna feel this exhausted in the morning, might as well be for a good reason," she whispered before she kissed him again. He smirked against her lips as he moved his hands to her waist. She moaned softly against his lips as their groins rubbed against each other.
"There is one beneath sub-level eight-" he started to say.
"I destroyed that one weeks ago," Rogue said. "Before the truce," she added.
"You don't have to explain," Max said as he ran his hands up and down her body. Her eyes closed as he touched her. "I would have done the same," he said before he kissed her neck: his hand cupping her breast. "I do have a pair of gloves with me," Max offered her eyes snapped open. She met his glaze: her eyes lite up, she was clearly excited by the idea. Both of their heads turned as they heard a knock at the door.
"You two got everything you need?" Logan asked dryly.
"Shit," she whispered as she quickly rolled off of him. She almost fell off the bed, but Max reached out and grabbed her: pulling her back onto the bed.
"Are you alright?" he mouthed to her as she repositioned herself.
"Yeah," she mouthed as she nodded her head: she had the largest grin on her face. "We're good," Rogue called out: as she tried not to laugh. "Thanks, Logan," she said as she settled back in by his side. Max could hear Wolverine growling softly under his breath as he walked away from the door. "Damn it, he's gonna be cock-blocking us all night," she whispered.
"He's what?" Magneto asked in whisper.
"You never heard that phrase before?" Rogue asked.
"No, I can't say that I have," he replied. He repeated the phrase in his mind. "It means exactly what it sounds like, doesn't it?" he asked.
"Yeah," she smiled: she was trying so hard not to laugh.
"Americans," he muttered mostly to himself before they heard another knock at the door. "I feel like a naughty school boy," Max commented in German. The hugest grin came to her face before Rogue buried her head into his chest as she laughed: she was trying not to make noise.
"Rogue, Magneto?" Charles asked.
"Yes, Charles?" Max asked.
"I thought we agreed you two were going to be sleeping in separate beds," Charles said.
"You handed me two sets of bedding. It was strongly implied, yes, but neither Anna nor myself agreed to any such thing verbally," Magneto said with a smile.
"Magnus, you're being a child," Charles said: his tone annoyed.
"And you're being a cock-block," he said before he could stop himself. That was the last straw: Rogue let out a loud laugh.
"I'm being a what?" Charles exclaimed over Rogue.
"Stop making me laugh, you jackass," she exclaimed through her laughter as she hit him on the chest. He held her to him as she laughed harder than he had ever seen her before.
"Charles, I just wanted to put Anna in a better mood. It worked,"he laughed. "We'll go to sleep now," Max said as he himself laughed.
"This isn't amusing, Magnus," Charles said.
"It really is," Rogue said against his chest: his body vibrated with the motion of her laughter. "Prof, really," Rogue started to say: as she struggled to regain control over herself. She took a deep breath. "We're gonna go to sleep now," Rogue said.
"In separate beds," Charles said strongly. Rogue and Magneto looked at each other.
"Charles does not get to dictate where I sleep," Max said in German.
"You're in his house," Rogue argued in German.
"That I pay for," he replied.
"Without an inhibitor field, it really is a bad idea for us to-" Rogue started to say
"Since when has that ever stopped us?" Max asked with smirk. Rogue let out a soft giggle as she stood up. She leaned down and kissed him again before she walked over the other bed.
"Rogue?" Charles asked.
"In separate beds," Rogue said with a sigh as she sat down on the second bed.
"Thank you," Charles said annoyed. "Good night," he said dryly.
"Good night," Rogue said again before Magneto used his powers to pull the second bed right up next to the one he was seated on. Rogue put her hand over her mouth to keep herself from making any noise. In her eyes he saw she was incredibly amused by the gesture.
"Chuck, you know, he just moved the beds closer together, right?" Logan asked. Rogue snickered under her breath as she let her back hit the mattress.
"Good night," Magneto said strongly as he used his powers to turn off the lights in the room. He heard Charles let out a sigh as Max laid back onto the mattress. He turned his head turns Rogue's.
"Chuck," Logan protested.
"Let's just all go to bed," he heard Charles said from the hallway. "It's been a very long day. And I for one would like to get some sleep. We can all argue more over breakfast," Charles said. It was very quiet as Charles and Wolverine went back to their rooms. He heard Rogue inch closer to him on the mattress.
"We're you just invited to breakfast?" Rogue whispered in disbelief.
"I think, I'm making progress," he whispered jokingly before Rogue turned her face into the pillow and let out a muffled laugh. He ran his hand down the back of her head a few times. She lifted her head up and faced his: bring her lips to his again.
"Good night," she whispered: he could still hear the smile in her voice.
"Good night," he whispered before he kissed her once last time that evening.
Thank you again to everyone that read and reviewed last chapter! Please review again: I want to know what you think! :)