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Impromptu- Chapter Seven:

Put Out The Fire

Monday December 22nd 2002, 2:04pm

Rogue took a deep breath as Erik parked in front of Amelia's home for Wayward Children. She had one more thing to do. One conversation that needed to happen. As little as she wanted to do this, she needed to.

"In case it should be stated, you don't have to do this today," Erik told her. "Amelia isn't going anywhere," he assured her.

"I ain't worried about her. It's just, as soon as I tell Momma I know anything about this, I'll lose my chance to find answers for myself," she informed him and watched his expression turn into a mix of confusion and disgust.

"Why?"

"She's just- she worries and-"

"And?" he asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"Momma watches me like a hawk," she said, laughing uncomfortably. "I mean, not usually," she huffed. "But after everything that happened on Saturday."

"So, they know we've been in contact?" he asked.

"Yeah," she sighed, smiling sadly as she shrugged at him before she turned to look out the window at Amelia's house. "Prof set up a some kinda trace on your new cell phone number so it would pick up and record any incoming or outgoing calls from-"

"Charles did, what?" he exclaimed enraged and Rogue felt magnetism building in his core, threatening to- She quickly pulled up a shield around the car as a magnetic pulse escaped Erik's core. The Lexus was off, powered down by the pulse, but nothing else had been affected. She had stopped it manually, magnetism negating magnetism.

Rogue's head spun around to see the enraged look on his face. His hands were gripping the steering wheel, like he was trying to keep himself from doing anything else.

"Erik?" she asked tentatively, as she could still feel magnetism coursing around him. She left the shield up around the car, unsure if they'd need it again, but playing it safe for the moment. Anger and magnetism were a dangerous mix.

She didn't get why he was so angry. Yes, she'd been upset herself but-

"Anna-Marie, tell me they deleted the recording," he said, his teeth gritted.

"Yeah, yesterday. It's gone," she answered quickly.

"Good, that's good," he said, taking a deep breath, clearly trying to calm himself. "Now tell me the X-Men realized what type of call it was and nosy bastards restrained themselves and respected your privacy," he said.

"Only Uncle Jimmy listened to it," she told him honestly.

Another pulse escaped him and she strengthened her shield, absorbing the pulse, keeping their conversation and his anger contained within the car.

'And there's a whole lot of anger,' she noted as she watched his grip on the steering wheel tightened. She could see his knuckles turning white as more magnetism manifested around him; his eyes, his hands, his body was surrounded by it. Not that it bothered her, she could absorb that energy just as easily as her skin borrowed abilities.

"Why exactly did Wolverine listen to that recording of us?" he hissed, his eyes narrowed into slits of rage.

"So, I'd have someone besides you to ask questions ta. Prof was gonna erase his memory, but he decided ta keep it so I'd have someone else who knows I still have your powers," she answered. "I was keeping that a secret before Saturday," she told him.

Rogue watched him take a very deep breath before asking, "Is that what you wanted or was the decision made for you?"

"It's- … It's nice not having ta hide anything in front of my uncle," she answered. "I can kinda be more blunt with him than with anyone else. I like not having ta hold anything back with someone besides you, Erik," she said. He took several more deep breaths and some of the magnetism around him dissipated. His eyes, she could finally see his eyes again. "And Prof knows he ain't allowed to read Uncle Jimmy's mind anymore. It's off limits, same as mine," she said. He took another deep breath.

"And you're confident Charles will show restraint with his god given abilities?" he asked.

"He'd better, or I'm leaving the X-Men," she said deadpanned. She watched him let out a huff before a proud smile formed on his lips.

"That's my girl," he said, satisfied as he took a final deep breath and his demeanor returned to normal. "You do realize it's utterly absurd that our conversation was recorded in the first place, don't you?" he asked, his eyebrow raised as he studied her.

"They were just trying ta protect me," she justified.

"No, they're trying to control you, Anna-Marie," he said firmly. "There's a difference. A staggering difference," he said before he took yet another breath. "Before we part ways today, may I purchase you a cell phone? I have to change my number again, thus I have to go to a carrier today regardless. And I think, though it's your decision, that you should have a means of communication that is unmonitored," he said, his words flowing quickly, giving her no time to interject.

"And if I ask Momma for one, they might do something to it," she reasoned. She didn't like that thought, of them installing some kind of tracker or listening device, but it was there and now she couldn't get it out of her head. Asking them was off the table.

"That is between you and your mother. Though I offer you the option to avoid that conflict altogether," he said. She thought about that, liking the sound of it.

"Yeah, okay," she said, nodding before another thought came to mind. "Amelia's got a phone number, right?" she asked.

"Yes, of course, she does," Erik said, raising his eyebrow again.

"So, I don't havta do this in person. I could just call her and ask my questions," she realized, wondering why she hadn't thought of it earlier. She didn't have to do this today. Thank god, this wasn't something she had to do today. Or this year. Amelia was clearly sorry, she didn't want to ruin the woman's holidays.

"I can speak with her first," he offered.

"No, it's okay," Rogue said, giving him a half-smile, as she realized she wasn't in nearly as much of a rush to do this as she thought earlier that day. "If I need ya, I'll ask, I just-" she said before she took a deep breath herself. "I don't wanna do this today," she admitted.

"Very well," he said, waving his hand before the Lexus turned back on. She guessed it needed an extra boost from magnetism to restart after he forced it off with his powers minutes before.

He turned the car around and they headed away from Amelia's house, back down the road they'd taken to get there.

Monday December 22nd 2002, 4:10pm

Rogue sat in Magneto's den on the couch and he sat beside her. She played with her new phone; the blue and gray device in her hands, flipping the semi-translucent blue keyboard up and down. Every time she read the name of the device spelled out across the top of it, she couldn't help but snicker to herself: Ericsson P800.

"It's the best phone on the market, currently," Erik said, almost defensively, as he had his arm around her shoulders. He'd taken off his trench coat and was hanging over the chair behind his desk.

"'Course it is," she said, unconvinced.

"The model only came out in September. It has all the standard features, caller ID, picture ID, conference calling, voicemail, text messaging," he listed, nearly reciting what they were told in the store. "And it has a touch screen, Anna-Marie. That's extremely rare," he continued.

"Ah-huh," she grinned dismissively, her eyes switching between looking at the bright blue and white he was wearing and his eyes. The shirt was bringing out their icy blue color and she couldn't help herself from staring into them.

"I have one myself," he pointed out.

"Erik, you got that today," she laughed.

"Well, you heard the helpful sales representative," he smirked. "It was easier to cancel my old phone's service and upgrade to a new one than to try and switch the number on my old device," he said.

"He was lying!" she laughed.

"Obviously. But I wanted the Telephone and he wanted to earn his commission. All in all, a fair trade," he said and she was laughing, resting her head against his shoulder. She felt his hand slip off his new device and felt his finger curl under her chin before he lifted her gaze to his. She closed her eyes, sighing happily as he closed the distance between their lips.

"Would you please admit ya got these 'cause of the name?" she asked him, smiling up at him.

"It's not spelled correctly," he countered, still holding fast. There was a gleam in his eye though, a gleam that only she could make appear. She loved seeing it. She loved making it happen.

"Ericsson is close enough," she replied.

"It is?" he asked, his eyebrow arched with amusement, before capturing her lips again. It was impossible to deepen the kiss, she was laughing too hard, but he didn't seem to mind. "God, how I've missed you," he said, smiling at her before he gestured with his head up toward the phone. She glanced up and saw he had turned the phone around so the camera lens was facing them. She felt her beaming grin grow as she tilted her head towards his and they posed for the picture.

"Think it got both of us?" she asked as he drew his phone closer and turned it around to review. She laughed as she saw their faces on the screen. "It ain't in black and white," she said, surprised.

"It's not fully in color either," he remarked as they both examined the photo on the small screen; it was blue hued.

"So, is it still the best on the market?" she teased.

"Irrelevant," he chuckled. "Because this telephone just provided us with our very first photograph together," he said before he leaned down for another kiss. She pushed her phone off to the side before she looped her arms around his neck, pulling him to her, seeking to deepen the kiss. "Anna-Marie," he said, pulling back. "I made you a promise this afternoon," he reminded her, as he pulled her arms out from around her neck, holding her hands in his.

"Plans change," she said dismissively.

"But a man's word cannot falter," he said as lifted her hands to his mouth and kissed the tops of each of her palms. "If you wanted to return tomorrow, however," he said and she laughed.

"You're just tryna to get me ta agree to come back," she pointed out.

"Yes, unapologetically so," he admitted and she leaned up and kissed him this time.

"I should probably get back with some time ta spare before dinner," she reasoned.

"That would likely be the correct course of action," he said as he released her hands. "Best to avoid a sense of deja vu," he added and she hummed in agreement. "Will you tell them you have the cellular phone?" he asked.

"My uncle, yeah," she answered. "He's the only one I haveta tell and he can't say anything to anyone else I agree ta it," she said. A thoughtful glance passed over his face.

"So, there are rules that must be adhered to in exchange for your transparency?" he asked.

"Ah-huh," she nodded. "I'm still- I'm still figuring out if I'm comfortable with 'em," she said.

"I'm not comfortable with the fact that Wolverine listened to a recording of us," he said bluntly. "I'm not and I won't pretend that I am," he said firmly. "It's ridiculous it was taken that far," he said next before he took a breath, calming himself before he got riled up again.

"Anna-Marie," he said, holding her gaze, "I need to know that you understand how violating that choice was. I don't care that they intended to erase Wolverine's memory, that it was meant to be temporary. Were you in the room when that decision was made?" he asked and she shook her head no. "Then the X-Men were wrong," he said strongly. "You can choose to accept their choice and remain an X-Man. I won't attempt to sway you otherwise, but please tell me-"

"Yeah, I get it," she said, nodding up at him; though she still had the X-Men's justifications in the back of her mind. "Everything kinda happened fast, when I realized what was going on and I- I did like the idea of talking to Uncle Jimmy about all of it. Having an X-Man I could talk ta. It doesn't feel like I'm hiding anything anymore," she said.

"And thus a weight has been lifted from your shoulders," he finished and she nodded again. He looked away from her. "Would Wolverine consent to one of my telepaths placing a metal block in his mind? I would feel more at ease if there was a measure in place, rather than trusting Charles to keep his word," he said.

"I'll ask him," Rogue said. "But if he says no, we havta accept that," she added. He held her gaze, looking as if he wanted to fight her on that point.

Instead, Erik sighed, smiling at her before he leaned in, taking hold of her cheek. Her eyes closed as she felt his lips on her forehead. "I've missed you so much, my girl," he said against her forehead.

Rogue's eyes snapped open as she glanced up at him. She pushed her lips to his and his grip on her cheek tightened as he finally let them deepen the kiss. Her hand grabbed at the front of his shirt, holding him to her, as she moved to lay down on the couch, pulling him on top of her. Her legs wrapped around his waist, as his hands ran down her body to take hold of her hips, if only to keep her from grinding against him.

He pulled back from her mouth, though she could tell, he was just as aroused as she was.

"I think you'd better return to the institute for the evening," he said, his tone steadfast. She leaned her head back against the couch cushion, letting out a frustrated huff as she did. "Tomorrow?" he asked. "Do you think you could sneak away for a couple of hours?" he asked.

"I can try," she said, resisting the urge to pull him back to her as he pulled her legs apart to stand. She tilted her head to the side, resting it on the couch as she glanced up at him. Him standing there, towering over her, was doing terrible things to her. The gratified look in his eyes told her she was more than aware of what she wanted from him, without the need to read a single one of her thoughts.

"Text me, Anna-Marie, when you know and I'll join you," he said.

"And… how do I do that?" she asked. A grin came to his face before he chuckled. He gestured for her to sit up and she did so, before he sat back down beside her.

"I'll show you," he said, calling his phone back to his hand. She followed suit, as he pulled up a menu on the phone. "Lorna taught me. I've been told emoticons are required unless you want the one you're communicating with to believe you're perpetually angry with them."

Rogue snorted at that, ready to learn the new format of communication.

Monday December 22nd 2002, 6:26pm

Rogue entered the institute from the same room she'd left from earlier that morning; the kitchen. Inside, she saw Mr. McCoy and Freddy, working on dinner for the evening. Freddy enjoyed cooking so much and his meals were equally enjoyed, that the schedule of responsibilities were adjusted accordingly. She'd load the dishwasher every other night, and more if it meant they'd kept getting delicious meals out of the arrangement. Especially after the day she'd had, with its ups and down, a warm dinner sounded wonderful. And she wasn't in any hurry to seek out her mother or uncle, knowing both would want to know where she had disappeared all day, after all. Yes, focusing on dinner was a great idea.

"Good evening, Rogue," Mr. McCoy said, pleasantly, his hand in an oven mitt as he lifted a tray of roasted carrots. His other large hand held a set of tongs as he heaped the vegetables into a metal bowl.

"Hey," Freddy muttered, not looking up from the pot he had over the stovetop. She smelled chicken and lemon and garlic.

'Dinner is gonna be good,' she thought excitedly. "Hi, y'all need help with anything?" she asked.

"Yeah, grab the honey, drizzle some over the carrots and mix until all the carrots are lightly coated," Freddy said, almost sounding like he was reciting a receipt, as he pointed at an unused spoon on the counter she could utilize.

"On it," Rogue said, walking over to the cabinet.

"Mr. McCoy, you work on the mashed potatoes. They needed to get out of that water five minutes ago," he said as Rogue looked in the cabinet and saw-

"Regular or wildflower honey?" she asked.

"Regular," Freddy answered. "While they're hot, Rogue," he said, with a sense of urgency. She grabbed what she needed and rushed over the bowl, following Freddy's instructions, drizzling honey onto the carrots as she watched Mr. McCoy fish out chunks of cut up potatoes from a boiling pot of water into another metal bowl.

"I'll need the masher," Mr. McCoy said, as he placed the bowl onto the kitchen island, glancing around the countertop. Rogue took a quick scan of the room and found its location. They also told her uncle and likely her mother were heading toward the kitchen, but she couldn't deal with that right now.

"Second drawer on the right by the stove, toward the back," she recited to him as she mixed carrots around with the spoon, helping them get evenly coated. Mr. McCoy joined her and they were both stirring their respective bowls. "If this is just a normal dinner, I'm afraid to ask what cooking the Christmas feast is gonna be like," she snickered in a sotto voce, sharing a glance with Mr. McCoy. There was a melancholy smile on his face, and it told her he was well aware he was helping to create a monster of a chief.

"Could you please retrieve the butter and milk?" he asked.

"Ah-huh," she said, turning to rush toward the refrigerator as she saw the three of them enter the room.

"And the heavy cream," Freddy called out.

"Hey," she said, acknowledging them as she got what she needed and headed right back to Mr. McCoy with the three items. More mixing was in the works.

"Rogue, we need salt, pepper and garlic powder for the potatoes," Freddy ordered next.

"On it," she repeated as she scanned the countertop for each item. She barely noticed that as quickly her mother and uncle had entered the room, they had promptly left it again.

Monday December 22nd 2002, 8:17pm

Rogue let out a sigh in relief as she finally finished loading the dishwasher and washing the pots that wouldn't fit. Dinner had been as good as it had smelled. Better, actually. She, Kurt and Freddy had a great conversation about the movie they watched last night, with talks of renting a similar movie for tonight. For that reason, Kurt, Freddy and her mother were taking a ride to Blockbuster to secure a few movie options, while Rogue offered to clean up from dinner by herself.

She had skipped out on breakfast early that morning, so it was only right that she help with the clean up from the next meal she was present for. She didn't mind the chores themselves. Actually, after all the running around she'd done all day, it was fairly relaxing, mindless. And the warm water over her hands felt good. Reminiscent of the bath she'd taken that afternoon.

'Maybe I should take another bath tonight,' she considered before she snorted. 'I think I'd rather take another one with Erik tomorrow,' she smiled to herself as she heard the kitchen door opening. She didn't need to turn around to sense her uncle standing there. But she did turn around to greet him. "Hey," she said, smiling at him, as she picked up the dish towel and dried her hands.

"You're mother's worried about ya," he said, and suddenly it was breakfast again, rehashing the same conversation they'd started hours prior.

"She doesn't need ta be," Rogue insisted. "I'm fine," she said as she folded the hand-towel and placed it back on the counter.

"You were gone all day," he said grunted.

"Yeah, and I said I'd be back for dinner and I was. What's the problem?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest, leaning back against the countertop.

"You got his scent all over ya," he said, disgust clear in his voice.

"Yeah, 'cause I saw Erik today," she said, shrugging her shoulders, not understanding what the big deal was.

"Kid," he said, his hands balling at his sides. "We talked about this. You said you weren't gonna call him again," he said.

"Yeah- I-" she said before sighing. "I know y'all don't want me to," she said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, "but Erik's important ta me too. Talkin ta him Saturday, seeing him today, I've missed him so much. I don't- I don't wanna go months without seeing him again," she admitted. To her surprise, she watched her uncle's face; his irritation wasn't dissipating. He was annoyed with her. "Uncle Jimmy, I told you everything. Every. Single. Detail. Don'tcha get how important he is ta me?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I do," he answered. "And I thought you'd agreed with him that you two had to be patient. That's it too soon for you two to jump back into a relationship," he said.

"Yeah, I know that's what I said, but-" She paused to let out a sigh.

"Do you have any idea what this is doing to your mother, worrying about ya?" he asked her and Rogue a swell of guilt in the pit of her stomach.

'No,' she thought firmly, pushing the feeling away. She wasn't doing anything to her mother, she was just- "I'm. Fine," she insisted, yet again.

"Are ya?" he grunted.

"Yes," she exclaimed, starting to get annoyed with the circles this conversation was heading in. "I am completely unharmed and until ya marched in here tryna make me feel guilty about spending time with Erik, I was happy and looking forward to watching a movie or two with y'all tonight," she said. "But that ain't happening, is it?" she asked him, looking at him with disbelief.

Rogue took a deep breath, calming herself.

"I'm gonna go ta bed," she said, walking past him toward the exit. "By myself," she added, "Since it seems to matter so much that y'all know that," she muttered under her breath, knowing full well he could hear her, as she pushed open the door. She felt a surge of anger in her core and couldn't help herself when she spun around to look at him. "I don't get it. What happened ta ya understanding that me and Erik are inevitable?" she asked.

"What happened to 'Yes sir, I won't contact Erik and we'll be patient?'" he asked and she felt her eyes widening.

Rogue felt a fire burning in her chest as her mind raced, as the truth became apparent. Thoughts were flying, responses, arguments she could make, but none of them felt worth articulating. She'd had enough speaking in circles for one night. She stilled her mind, temporarily putting out the fire, deciding to process the surge of conflicting notions later.

"See ya in the morning, Uncle Jimmy. I'm gonna ta bed," she repeated, her tone dry, even and emotionless. So much for those plans.

Monday December 22nd 2002, 8:49pm

Rogue sat in her bed, shoes off, legs crossed beneath her. She was sitting on the fitted red sheet of magnetic fibers, while the cover sheet was floating above her, in a tent pitched like shape, draping over the bed around her, granting her complete privacy. In the top of the pitch was a ball of energy that became her light source.

Pulling her new cell phone from her back pocket, she opened up Erik's contact information and followed the steps he'd shown her to pull up the text message feature. She felt a smile coming to her face as she looked over their first exchange.

'Hello, Anna-Marie, :-)'

'So, like this? : )'

'Perfect, as always, my girl, 3'

She put her thumbs to the keyboard and began to type.

'Why are you ALWAYS, right?'

'It is my curse,' he replied and she snickered. 'Are YOU alright, Anna-Marie?'

'I think my uncle was just telling me what I wanted to hear, as long as I said I was putting off contacting you,' she wrote.

'Will you heed your uncle's directive?' he asked.

'No,' she replied, almost immediately. 'Can you meet in Jericho tomorrow? 10:00am?'

'I apologize, but can we meet closer to noon?' he asked and she felt a sense of disappointment but- no, she couldn't expect him to be available whenever she wanted. He'd never ask for that from her. 'I will complete my responsibilities in Hawaii by that time.'

'Yup, noon sounds great! : )' she replied.

'AND I'd be happy to simply relax and enjoy your company, as we did today :-) ' he texted. 'Seeing one another does not mean we MUST engage in sexual relations,' he texted. 'I delight being WITH you, my girl,' he texted. 'There are any number of activities we could enjoy together. All manner of 'firsts' we've yet to explore. ;-)'

Rogue sighed happily reading his message. Even in this format, how much he cared for her was plain to see.

'You do realize this is just making me want you MORE, right?' she asked.

'Yes, and have YOU noticed I'm attempting to ensure we don't sleep together IN SPITE of Wolverine or your mother?' he asked and she felt her eyes widened. That wasn't what she was doing and she was trying to type that message in when his next one arrived. 'Our first time together should be FOR US. Not because you're angry with your family.'

'That's NOT what I'm trying to do,' she fired off.

'I know, but when emotions are running high, sex doesn't HELP the situation. It typically makes things WORSE.'

'How do I convince you that I'm not-' she wrote before her finger slipped and she sent the incomplete text.

'But displaying what the X-Men and Wolverine, in particular, clearly lack… RESTRAINT!'

She sighed, not liking it, but she'd do what was asked of her.

'It not like I WANT us being together to be tainted, either,' she texted.

'I know that, my dear. :-) Text me before you leave the institute and I'll meet you in Jericho. If you don't text, I'll assume something came up and we'll reschedule,' he texted. 'I hope you have a nice evening and get some rest,' he texted.

'You too, Erik,' she texted.

'Good night, 3'

'Night :)'