Chapter Eight: Last Breakfast on Earth
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Anna
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It was an unremarkable Tuesday morning, considering it would be the last time to look at this sky, breath this air, walk on this ground. Rogue looked out the window and thought for her last day on Earth it seemed pretty mundane. The weather was fair and the pale sky that made her think of Erik's eyes had a smattering of white fluffy clouds. The sparse leaves on the trees that survived the attack fluttered in the mild wind.
Rogue glanced at the full length mirror in the room's corner. She wore her hair in a high ponytail with a pair of jewel encrusted barrettes on either side to keep the flyaways secured. She ran her palms down the skirt of her green sundress with tiny white daisies embroidered in a repetitive pattern. She'd bought the dress for her last birthday on a shopping trip with Ororo the year before and she'd never been brave enough to wear it. There was a lot of skin exposure, but her long legs looked good in it and the strappy sandals were flattering with her freshly painted hot-pink toenails.
Emma had given her the sandals and the nail polish since she couldn't properly wear either herself. She'd stressed the importance of Anna dressing up for the breakfast with Magneto and his daughter this morning. Rogue didn't think it was that big of a deal, but Emma argued and said it would be good for the people to see her dressed up casually, yet appearing elegant — she was their queen after all. And shouldn't the queen dress up nice for the king?
Anna might have thought that was a bit sexist, but to be honest, she liked getting all gussied up. After spending the majority of her adult life hiding behind layers and layers of clothes, she liked the idea of showing off her body, especially around the one man that didn't seem to have a problem touching her. Well, one of two men — Nightcrawler's fur seemed to insulate him from her touch as well. That had been a pleasant discovery. She had to use a great deal of concentration to absorb his powers.
Considering Talia also had the blue elf fur and Polaris had her father's ability with magnetism, Rogue should be safe to show a little skin in the company of those four. They were probably the only four people she could afford to let down her guard around.
Kurt knocked on the door to the apartment at precisely fifteen past seven. Emma rested stretched out on the couch in the den. The poor woman had slept fitfully throughout the night and had only fallen into a deep slumber within the past two hours. It must have been hard for a telepath to find herself in silence, no longer privy to the minds of those around her.
Rogue could sympathize, having been haunted by the constant banter of the minds she absorbed over the first few years of her power manifesting. It had only been after the professor created the mental barriers that she finally found peace — the manifestations of Cody and Carol no longer haunted her every waking moment.
Anna opened the door and found her brother dressed casually in a pair of custom jeans, modified for his tail, and a button up red shirt. The custom-made combat boots on his feet looked plenty comfortable for his larger than average feet.
Nightcrawler glanced over her shoulder and noted Emma's slumbering state. "Ready?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Rogue nodded and stepped into the hallway with him, closing the door securely behind them. "How was your conversation with Logan?"
"Bittersüß," Kurt said. He smiled faintly. "Bittersweet. I am going to miss him, but he had good advice for fatherhood," Kurt said. He gestured towards her oufit. "You look very pretty. Erik should be pleased."
"Ah dressed up for myself, not for him," Anna countered, straightening the elbow length white silk gloves she wore out of habit.
Kurt nodded. "That is wise to dress for yourself and not someone else." He grinned, his fangs prominent in his amusement. "That doesn't mean your fiancé won't appreciate you." They started down the stairwell. "Are you sure you want to walk? It would be faster to fly to Magneto's apartment."
"It's our last day on Earth. I think we should walk, appreciate the small things," Rogue explained. And while she worse a pair of bicycle shorts underneath her dress, it didn't mean she wanted to provide any free shows to people that might be on the ground should she fly above. "We've both been in space before, but we've not been on a one-way trip to our new home world."
"Ah, that makes sense," Kurt agreed. "Are you all packed?"
"Yeah, I actually dropped off my trunk a couple of hours ago. I was feeling restless," Anna admitted. "I volunteered for a few hours securing the cargo ships." She looped her arm through Kurt's once they exited the building and started navigating their way past the debris. "I'm actually a little nervous about seeing Erik."
"Why?" Kurt's tail tapped her on the shoulder playfully. "What is to be nervous about?"
"It's just, he probably would rather spend time with his daughter and granddaughter," Anna explained hurriedly, her free hand waving back and forth to punctuate her words. "I don't want to get in the middle of his family business, right?"
"Schwester, we are all family now, connected by Talia if nothing else." Nightcrawler hugged Rogue against him and teleported the two of them to the top of the next building over. He waved his hand slowly to indicate the island's shoreline to the south. "We are leaving this world behind and venturing beyond the stars to our new planet. When we settle, you will become Queen Anna Magnus. Magneto has asked you to be his partner. If anything, my conversation with Logan last night reminded me we need to appreciate things day by day, because before you know it, time will have passed us by." He turned to face her, his luminous yellow eyes staring straight into her. "And unlike Logan, we won't all live to be two-hundred years old. We must figure things out sooner rather than later with our brief mortal lives."
"You always sound so poetic," Anna murmured, looking away and folding her arms over her chest, unnerved by the intensity of her brother's stare. She saw a gray feral cat wandering the rubble, ears tucked back in a hunting stance, tail flickering back and forth. What would the animals be like on Planet M? Would the felines be the size of bobcats instead of a tomcat?
"Ja. I do favor the book of Psalms," Kurt agreed. "Are you sure you don't want to fly at least part of the way?"
Anna laughed and performed a little twirl on her the balls of her feet to send the skirt of her summer dress to flare out. "Ah do have on undershorts, but Ah was hoping to avoid giving folks a peep a show."
Kurt chuckled. "Not many people are awake. Es ist alles gut," he assured her.
Rogue peered down over the edge of the building. The scent of fire and brimstone associated with Nightcrawler's teleportation had started to fade with the fresh air. "Since we're way up here, Ah suppose there's not much choice unless we want to take ten flights of stairs down to the ground."
Nightcrawler was right, there weren't many people walking around the city this early in the morning. Most of the residents were sleeping in, busy packing, or snuggling with the ones that they would be parted with across the known universe. After a somewhat leisurely flight around the city, Anna and Kurt showed up at Magneto's apartment. She tried to finger-comb her hair, annoyed that their little aerial stroll messed up her carefully styled hair.
When Erik opened the door, Anna knew that Kurt was as equally dumbfounded as her at the significantly younger appearance of their King Magnus. Magneto aged slowly as a result of his powers of magnetism, but something had obviously happened the previous evening.
"Come in," Erik greeted, his voice even more vibrant than usual. He stepped back to allow space for Rogue and Nightcrawler to enter the residence.
"Guten Morgan," Kurt greeted with a polite dip of his head before moving past Erik to join his daughter and Lorna in the breakfast nook. A large feast had already been laid out on the table and filled the entire apartment with mouth-watering scents of a full breakfast.
Rogue hardly noticed. She couldn't draw her eyes away from Erik's youthful appearance. He looked hardly older than her now! The crow's feet that she liked to trace were absent. His hair looked more white-blond than silver. Would it feel softer too? Her fingers twitched with the desire to find out. She curled her hand into a fist.
Noticing her distraction, Erik arched a silvery eyebrow, his upper lip curled in amusement. "Do you like what you see, Anna?" His voice was low and smooth like bourbon.
She cleared her throat and with a confidence that was mostly faked, tossed back her long auburn hair, having given up on that high-ponytail from earlier. "Ah'm certainly not disappointed," Anna admitted, keeping her tone prim.
Magneto's glacial blue eyes bore straight into her, seeing right past the bluster. "I am glad to hear you're not disappointed," he murmured with a chuckle. He smiled softly. "You look beautiful, Anna."
"Tante Anna!" Talia shouted, waving across the apartment. "Come and sit by me!"
"Just a moment, Enkelin," Erik called, taking Anna's hand and pulling her with him into the bathroom. He closed the door and braced his hands on either side of her head, caging her against the door. He brought one hand to her hair and plucked out a leaf and let it fall to the tiled floor before tucking the loose strand behind her ear. "Are you okay?"
Anna yanked off her gloves and let them fall onto the edge of the vanity, then laid her hands flat over his chest, curling her fingers into the front of his magenta t-shirt. She could see the ridge of every one of his muscles through the form-fitting material. He wore a pair of custom-tailored slacks that would be as comfortable as sweatpants, but likely cost more money than tickets to the Super Bowl. "Ah'm fine. Did you find the Fountain of Youth, Erik? What happened?" She raised one hand to brush her thumb at the corner of his eye, touching the smooth skin.
Erik smirked, leaning in closer to her space. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek. "Elixir applied some of his anti-aging knowledge. I honestly hadn't realized how tired I felt or how much my joints ached."
Rogue patted his shoulder and smiled teasingly. "Does that mean y'all don't have interest in my massages?"
Erik's hand shifted to cup the side of Rogue's face, his thumb traced lightly over her bottom lip. "On the contrary, I'm quite looking forward to having your hands on me when we share quarters on the ship. And while circulation hasn't even been a problem for me, when I woke up this morning I was very disappointed you weren't around to appreciate my newfound energy." He leaned in close and Anna gripped his shirt tighter. "I've always thought green was a good color on you, but I like it more when it's off of you."
Anna sighed as Erik's lips pressed against hers in a slow, purposeful caress. His strong hand slipped into her hair, holding her close. Rogue felt her knees go weak at the same moment Erik's other arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her flush against him.
He lifted her up and her legs wrapped around his hips, his calloused palms ran along the expanse of the bare skin of her leg.
There was a sharp knock on the bathroom door. "I need to use the potty!" Talia whined. "It's an emergency!"
Erik pulled back with a growl and looked down at Anna. "Verdammt. I am starting to remember what it was like to have young children. I'd prefer if we wait a while before we try to have one of our own." He brushed his thumb back over her lower lip again and squeezed her thigh. "I don't want to share you just yet."
"Hurry!" Talia called out.
With great reluctance, Anna slipped out of Erik's embrace and opened the door for Kurt's daughter. The small elfish girl zoomed into the bathroom, heading directly for the toilet for her emergency.
"Why don't you get started with the breakfast, Ah'll stay with Talia in case she needs some help," Anna suggested, gently but firmly shoving Erik out of his bathroom. He opened his mouth to protest, but Rogue covered his mouth with her hand to stay his words. Erik narrowed his eyes and she knew he was going to get her back for this. No one held a grudge like Erik Lehnsherr. She closed the door and leaned heavily against it, taking a deep, steadying breath.
"Are you okay, Tante Anna?" Talia asked. She swung her short legs back and forth from her perch on the toilet.
"Ah'm fine. You let me know when you're all done, so Ah can help you clean up, alright?" Anna asked.
From the other side of the door, there was a thump from Magneto's forehead hitting the wood softly. "We will continue this conversation later," Erik's low rumble came through the door.
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Erik
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Breakfast with his family was both a delicious and frustrating event. Rogue was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever known and standing on his doorstep in that little slip of a dress that he wanted to rip off, made it hard to focus. He just needed to wait a few hours and then she'd be all his.
The fact that she felt confident enough around their family to show so much skin made him glad. He loved the fact that she didn't have to hide around them and could be comfortable. His and Polaris' magnetic powers and Nightcrawler and Talia's fur seemed to offer them all a measure of protection from her absorption powers.
He also had a great deal more energy since Elixir's treatment and he wanted to channel that passion into an enjoyable pastime with his queen.
The food was of course delicious— a traditional full Jewish breakfast. The spread included fried wurst and eggs, latkes, coolant, toasted challah and sautéed mushrooms and tomatoes. There was also a bowl of fresh fruit. The company was beyond measure — members of the Magnus royal family. Rogue was within arm's reach, but his enthusiastic granddaughter sat between them. Talia had wanted to sit across from her father so she could look at his face directly during the meal. Lorna sat between Kurt and Erik.
"I haven't had a kosher breakfast in ages," Lorna murmured, digging into her eggs and stabbing her fork onto his plate after she finished hers off.
"Stick to your own servings," Erik said frowning. He didn't like when people took from him and he was hungrier than usual. Probably another side effect of Elixir's work.
"Ah, you can have some of mine," Anna murmur, lifting plate and scrapping off a large portion of her eggs onto his. She picked up one of the peaches and diced it with practiced ease before. "Here you go, Kurt. I chopped up the peaches for you," Anna said, gathering the little cubes of peaches she'd cut to transfer to his plate. "I know you have that texture issue." She held a serving out to Talia. "Would you like to try it this way? Your dad sometimes has a hard time biting into peaches because of how juicy they are, but he really likes them like this."
Erik stared in amazement as Anna just mothered half the table. A faint, long ago memory of his own mother from his childhood, before tragedy struck came to mind. She used to cut up his meals for him into bite-sized pieces.
Talia nodded eagerly and accepted the diced fruit.
Erik cleared his throat, catching Anna's emerald gaze. "I don't mind juicy things in my mouth," he teased. He resisted the urge to smirk when her face flushed knowingly at his inuendo.
"Behave," Lorna muttered quietly. "You're starting to act like a thirty-year old."
She was right of course. There was more to the anti-aging effect than just relief from aching joints. "I have a meeting with Namor this morning," Erik announced. "We'll be discussing his plan for the Stargate's installation. Lorna you'll come with me."
"Of course, Daddy," Lorna murmured. She burst out laughing when Talia threw a fistful of diced peaches at Kurt. Nightcrawler opened his mouth wide and caught each and every one, chewing them with his cheeks puffed out in a grin while his daughter clapped gleefully.
"Do not throw food during meals," Erik snapped.
"Yes, Opa," Talia murmured, staring down at her plate with her lower lip quivering.
"It can be dangerous," Erik explained in as gentle and patient tone as he could muster. "Not everyone is your father and able to catch things with such ease. You wouldn't want to hurt someone accidentally."
Luminous golden eyes stared up at him and Talia shook her head empathically. "Oh, no! I wouldn't want to hurt someone, Opa!"
"Do you want to join me, Talia? You can come with me and Tante Anna this morning," Kurt offered. "We'll be leaving on the ship in a couple of hours to our new home."
"Oh yes!" Talia cried out, clapping her hands excitedly.
Erik looked over his granddaughter's head and met Rogue's eyes again. "Would you prefer port or starboard side of the ship? Our window can either face the great expanse of the universe or Earth in our departure."
Her eyes widened in childlike wonder and Erik felt his heart clench at the sight. He wanted to see such genuine joy on her face time and time again. There was a lot of pressure in being the chosen leader of their race. He needed the reminder of why he should fight so hard — the people at this table were a big part of that reason.
"Ah think Ah would like to see Earth, especially since Planet M is going to be the mirror of it. Ah would like to compare the visual." Anna smiled faintly. "Though, I didn't realize we would have a porthole. Is that safe?"
"It is Shi'ar technology. Even Earth's technology has created safe windows on spaceships." Though Erik didn't point out how the humans often failed to protect sufficiently against the solar radiation. That's where his ability had saved him multiple times in space. He picked up his glass orange juice and finished the tangy beverage. He was eager to leave this rubble behind and start on a civilization not marred by human fear and ignorance.
The Homo superior would be allowed to make their own mistakes and their own achievements without interference.
Anna rubbed her hands over her bare arms, chuckling nervously. "Ah'm excited, but Ah kinda feel like Ah swallowed a jar of lightning bugs and they're buzzing around in my tummy."
"Oh, Tante Anna, you shouldn't eat lightning bugs. That's not good for them," Talia said, patting her shoulder with a worried frown on her young face.
"Ja, I know what you mean," Kurt agreed. "It's both exciting and scary." He gestured towards those around the table. "We are founding a new society."
Lorna lifted her glass of orange juice and gestured for the others to do the same. "To the founders!" She clinked her glass against Kurt's and then the rest of them.
Erik smiled faintly as he finished off his juice. He caught Anna's eye over the rim of his glass. "Try not to fret too much, Anna." He set his empty glass on the table and then stood and gestured for Lorna to do the same. He stepped past Talia's chair and stood behind Anna briefly. He leaned over her until his lips were pressed against her ear. "I shall do my best to sooth your worries later tonight." He kissed her cheek and then strode towards his bedroom to finish dressing into a more regal outfit.
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