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Chapter 22 of

Taunting Repartee RM'd

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Less than two minutes later, Rogue was in her and Erik's bedroom, the cordless phone in her hand. She'd left the door ajar, wanting to keep an ear out in case her Uncle or Mr. McCoy came looking for her. She'd pulled it to her ear and ensured another call wasn't in progress before she quickly dialed Magneto's cell phone number. Rogue was lucky she'd asked Emma to call Magneto on Sunday, it only took her a moment to put up her own memory and find the number as it had been displayed on Emma's phone in front of her.

Erik picked up, almost immediately.

"Are you alright?" was his first question, his tone openly concerned.

"I'm fine," she answered. "But I need ta talk ta ya, like, right now," she said.

"Give me a moment," he said. "Everyone, we're taking fifteen," he declared, loudly, like he was speaking to a large group. "Joanna, Remy, take everyone's food orders, get that to the kitchen," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," said two voices in union, along with multiple "Thank you, sir's" from others in the room. Another moment passed before she heard a door close. She assumed he had excused himself to a private room.

"Anna-Marie, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Risty Wilde," she answered dryly.

"You're putting quite a few things together this week," he commented, an air of amusement in his tone.

"I already feel dumb enough that it took me this long to figure it out," she said as she threw herself, stomach first, onto their bed. "Ya don't gotta rub it in my face," she said and he laughed in response.

"You've been calling her 'Mom'for months," he retorted, still chuckling.

"I know," she exclaimed, before burying her head in the comforter. Even though the phone wasn't directly pressed up against her ear, she could still hear him chuckling.

"Do you want me to do anything about it?" he offered. She lifted her head up.

"No," she sighed as she pressed the phone against her ear and turned onto her back. "I wanna talk ta her myself, but," she said as she stared up at the ceiling.

"But?" he repeated.

"I need ta know I ain't gonna be the only who gets ta remember the conversation," she told him seriously.

"Anna-Marie," he said, his tone telling her she wasn't going to like whatever he was about to say.

"Erik," she said, sitting up. "I know what ya did when we found out Mystique is Kurt's Mom," she said, cutting him off. "I don't know why, but I know you stopped her from talking ta him and the only thing I wanna do here is get some answers for Kurt. He deserves to know the truth. Where he came from, why Irene kept Mystique from raising him herself," she said as she heard him hiss with a sharp intake of breath. "Who his Father is. What I don't get is why you care about him finding out. Why's it matter to you?" she asked.

She listened to him let out an audible sigh.

"Because I was involved," he said. Rogue took a breath as she drew her knees up to her chest.

"You experimented on him?" she asked, her voice lower, as she hugged her knees to her chest with her free hand. She didn't want to believe it but-

"No," he answered, much to her relief. "However, I have no qualms with Charles assuming I did," he said.

She blinked as a thought came to mind.

"'Cause it ties inta 'The Great Pantomime'?" she asked, her voice unsteady even as the question left her lips. She heard him let out something between a huff and a sigh, like he couldn't settle on a reaction.

"You have no idea what that means, do you?" he asked. She felt a little eliated at that, turning back onto her stomach.

"Nope," she said, playfully popping the "p" at the end. "Am I right?" she asked, as she bent her knees, her legs dangling in the air.

"That's your powers providing you insight without comprehension," he said, matter-of-factly. "Yes, of course, you are," Erik said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

"I'm switching back to Chemistry," she informed him, while they were on the subject of her powers.

"Oh, was the History textbook too tedious for your liking?" he smirked.

"Ah-huh," she smiled.

"I told you it would be," he said.

"I know," she said, rolling her eyes, drawing out the words.

"Have you opened the drawer?" he asked as her gaze immediately was drawn to the dresser and its secrets.

"Not yet," she said, feeling her face blush, knowing what was waiting for her inside.

"Would you like me to tell you how?" he asked.

"Nah, it's okay. You don't haveta give me the answer. I'll figure it out on my own," she said.

"That's my girl," he said and she felt her face warm up with pride.

"Erik, I-" she said, as she shook her head. She needed to focus on why she'd called. "I wanna have a relationship with my Mom. I've decided that. And I need to know that if I talk to her about all of this," she said.

"That she'll remember," Erik finished.

"Ah-huh," she said, nodding her head. "I need you to promise me, you ain't gonna get in the way of me and Kurt talking ta her," she said. "Ya can't do what ya did last time. Ya can't use your powers to intimidate my Mom inta keeping quiet, okay?" she asked.

"What you're asking for isn't a simple matter," he said.

"Because of 'The Great Pantomime?" she asked, feeling more certain this time.

"Yes," he answered.

"Can't ya work around it?" she asked.

"With enough time and planning, perhaps," he said.

"So, couldja do that?" she asked.

"You don't know what you're asking, Anna-Marie," he said, repeating himself.

"Yeah, but I know what I want," she said, pausing a moment, unclear why- "I don't get it," she said as she sat up fully.

"My vagueness is intentional," he said.

"No, I get that and I ain't gonna look either," she promised as she crossed her legs beneath her. "But even without knowing the details, something ain't sitting right with me, Erik," she said.

"And what would that be, Anna-Marie?" he asked.

"You're always saying that strategies haveta be adaptable," she said, resting her free hand on her calf. "Ya gotta be able to drop any preconceived notions and change things on the fly," she said, paraphrasing one of his many lectures on the topic. "So, you keep saying I don't know what I'm asking for, like me and Kurt talking ta our Mom is this major inconvenience to you, right? But if your entire plan is relying on Mystique's location in Bayville, if the whole thing falls about without one mutant being in the position you'd expect, can you really call it a great strategy?" she asked.

What followed was a laugh so loud, she had to move the phone away from her ear. Considering how many often he's howled in her mind, it was nice having some control over the volume this time.

She sat and waiting, knowing how long it was take from him to-

"Damn it," he said, his laughter turning into a sigh as she placed the phone back against her ear.

"I'm just saying, how good of a plan can it be if you don't got a single alternative?" she asked. "And you got people all over the country, why's Bayville so important?"

"Anna-Marie, you walking liability," he said, like he was gearing up to lecture her.

"I ain't telling Prof anything," she interrupted, cutting him off. "I just want me and Kurt ta have a relationship with Mystique," she said, tired of repeating herself. "Come on, don't make me beg for this," she said as she heard him let out a groan. "And don't say I can only have a relationship with her if we've both on your side. That's ain't fair either and it does nothin' for Kurt," she exclaimed as he let out another groan. "Erik, please," she added.

"Alright," he relented, his voice strained.

"Ya promise?" she asked quickly, needing to hear him say it before he had time to change his mind. There was a pause and she sat, her heart beating rapidly, afraid he would do so.

"Anna Marie… this is clearly important to you. So,... despite my better judgment, yes, you have my word," he said.

"Thank you," she said, a wave of gratitude passing over her. She almost wished he was in front of her so she could hug him.

"You've no idea what I've just agreed to," Erik said, his voice lowered before sighing. "How's your control?" he asked suddenly.

"The Fragments?" she asked. "I'm fine," she said dismissively.

"Anna-Marie, I'll have more work as a result of this promise. However, I can assure you, I'm not cross," he said.

'Yet,' she thought to herself.

"Hence, I'll ask again, do you require my assistance this evening?" he asked.

"No, not today," she said and he huffed in response, insinuating he still didn't believe her. "Really, I ain't just saying that, Erik, I'm okay," she answered, keeping her voice as level-headed as possible.

"Good," he said, pleased. "Can we push seeing one another till Saturday?" he asked.

"'Cause I just gave ya a whole buncha work ta do?" she asked.

"That and I've been informed I've been neglecting important matters," he said.

"What? Ya mean, you don't have unlimited time ta astral project inta my head?" she asked. She smiled when he laughed in response.

"Evidently, not," he said, his tone warm again and she knew they were okay. At least until he realized what she'd done. Though considering she had forgiven him for his manipulations, she was hoping he would do the same for her. "Have a good week, Anna-Marie. I'll miss you," he said.

"I've already missed talking to you," she admitted and he chuckled.

"Lonely?" he asked.

"Yeah, kinda. We've spent months together," she shrugged.

"Talking, day in and day out," he mused. She could almost see the smile on his face.

"Yeah," she sighed happily.

"I did leave you something," he said.

"Yeah, I know," she said, her face blushing, as her eyes scanned over the dresser again.

"No, something else," he told her.

She blinked.

"What?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"Another item I hope you'll find just as enticing," he chuckled. Rogue felt her breath catch in the throat. "Have an enjoyable week, Anna-Marie," he said and her face blush wildly at what he was expecting her to do. "You'll be ever present in my thoughts and I have a sneaking suspicion that sentiment will be shared," he said, his amusement evident in his tone.

"Ah-huh," was about as much as she could bring herself to respond. The chuckle that followed from him didn't help matters either.

"Call me if anything changes with the Fragments. Otherwise, I'll see you Saturday night, my dear," he added before the line went dead.

Rogue lowered the phone to her lap as she glanced over at the dresser. Curiosity was flooding her thoughts. She's known he's left her the means of opening the drawer. And as tempting as it was to figure it out now.

"I don't have time;" she told herself before she stood. "I don't have time," she repeated as she headed for the door. "I don't have time," she said, frustrated in more ways than one, when she realized she needed to turn back and grab the phone. If she didn't return it to its receiver, then someone would figure out she made a phone call. "I don't have time," she chanted as she got to the door. Her hand grasped the door's frame as she took long deep breaths. She needed to calm down and compose herself and she needed to do it now.

"I ain't ready ta leave yet," she admitted, before rushing to the bathroom to wash her face. Maybe it wouldn't be as red? But she needed to hurry, she'd already spent too much time here as it was.

As she splashed her cheeks with crisp cold water, she used the same technique she's utilized in the cafe to clear her mind. Though one thought kept emerging over and over again.

'Definitively gotta figure out how I can keep this room without Prof making a fuss over it.'

Sneaking around wasn't going to work long term and she knew she wanted the room as her own. She just had to figure out the best way to go about it.


Another few minutes had ticked by before Rogue had returned to hers and Kitty's room. The phone was back on its receiver and she had even remembered to grab her chemistry textbook. Neither her mother nor her uncle had thought anything suspicious about how long it's taken her to complete those tasks.

They'd headed down to dinner shortly after her return, which had been a relatively uneventful meal. There had been more small talk between Risty and the Professor. A few subtle hints had been made by the Professor, and a few overt ones from her Uncle Logan. Still, her mother had held onto her Risty persona and ignored them both. Rogue, for her part, knowing full well, that Mystique intended to accept, didn't feel the need to speed things along. They had until Saturday evening before Magneto knew anything about the situation and even then he'd promised not to get in the way of her relationship with her mother. Rogue knew Erik would keep his word.

'You don't spend months living in someone's head to throw it all away on a single promise,' she'd told herself and felt confident in her assumption.

Erik would work around whatever he was planning. She wouldn't have to worry about it. A part of her was curious about what those plans were, but she thought better of searching for answers. One, she'd already promised Erik she wouldn't and two, if she didn't understand the plan, she wouldn't have to feel guilty about withholding the information from the Professor. She knew its name and she knew Erik had to rework the whole thing thanks to her.

'Any information I had is probably outdated now anyhow,' she rationalized.

After dinner, Rogue and Risty had excused themselves upstairs. Her mother was content to read and Rogue had decided to use the time before bed to focus on her training. With a notebook and pen next to her textbook, she laid on her stomach, and read. As new notions, she barely understood, came to mind, she jotted them down in her notebook, knowing she could have Erik review them over the weekend.

All in all, though not how she thought today was going to go, it was still a successful operation.

END CHAPTER