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Impromptu- Chapter Eight

I Want It All

Tuesday December 23rd 2002, 11:47 am

Rogue sat in the common room, she had decided to wear her red hoodie today over a simple tee shirt, with a pair of jeans. She idly read a book, with only her uncle's company as he read a newspaper. It was nearly Christmas, and the air was heavy with the promise of snow.

At breakfast, Mr. McCoy had announced another outing, Kurt and Freddy had agreed instantly, but Rogue had politely declined. She wasn't in the mood to go to a museum, she already had other plans. Not that she knew what her and Erik were doing that afternoon, but she knew they were doing something. And he wasn't who she wanted to reschedule with.

'Anna-Marie, are you sure you don't want to come?' her mother had asked.

'Yup,' she replied dryly, ending the conversation. The Professor had remained notable quiet doing the exchange and her uncle-

Wolverine hadn't said a word to her all day, but he hadn't left her side either. Yet. Not a second after she finished her breakfast, he'd put his cup of coffee in the sink. Not a heartbeat after she'd gone to the common room, he followed suit. His silent excuse; reading a newspaper as he stayed in the room with her. On her back like a tick on a badger. But he wouldn't be able to follow where she was going in-

Glancing up at the clock: it read 11:50am.

'Close enough,' she thought as she snapped her book closed.

"Ya going somewhere?" her uncle grunted.

"Yup," she responded as she stood.

"Ya know, the last time we did this, you were afraid that Magneto was coming for ya. Now, you're going to him willingly," he said in gruff reminder.

"And now ya know the last time we did this, I wasn't afraid for me. I was worried about any of y'all getting in his way and what he'd do about it," she countered. "But that don't matter anymore," she said, shaking her head as she walked toward the exit.

"Guess not," he deadpanned.

"Seriously, I don't get it," she said in exasperation, spinning around to look at him. She held her tongue last night, but she wasn't prepared to do that again. "We're ya really only telling what you thought I wanted ta hear as long as I was doing what y'all wanted?" she asked.

"Kid," he said, throwing the newspaper down. "Magneto's the one who told ya to be patient. I thought you got that," he said, a hint of noticeable disgust in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm spending time with him today but we sure as hell ain't having sex," she said, rolling her eyes, bitter about it.

"What?!" he grunted. She rolled her eyes again and pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket. She needed to tell him about it anyway and she'd had enough of reciting information for him. She pulled up her text conversation with Erik, scrolling up with the touch-screen to the top of their conversation and brought the phone over to him, shoving it in his face. "Alright, alright," he said, taking it from and reading the first line. "How do I?" he asked and she reached over and scrolled down slightly so he could read the next line.

"And ya just keep doing that still ya get ta the bottom," she told him.

"Alright," he said, reading and then- he seemed to have trouble with the touch screen. "It ain't doing the-" She reached over and scrolled to the next line.

"Just tell me when and I'll do it," she said.

"Alright," he grumbled.

Tuesday December 23rd 2002, 11:57 am

Rogue scrolled down the bottom of her's and Magneto's text conversation, her uncle having finished reading it.

"Son of a bitch," Wolverine muttered as he handed the phone back to her. Rogue felt her eyes narrow at his tone. Was he seriously insulting Erik to her face after reading how much he cared about her?

"Erik said y'all should've never listened to the recording," she spat.

"Rogue, you think I don't fucking know that!" he exclaimed, taking her by surprise.

"Huh?" she asked, blinking a few times.

"The second I started that recording, I couldn't wait to get that shit out of my head. I knew it was fucking wrong. You're my niece!"

"Then why did you agree to listen to it?" she asked, placing her hand on her hip.

"We argued about it, alright!" he exclaimed. "I fucking screamed at Chuck, the son of the bitch," he growled and Rogue felt her eyes widen, "but he wouldn't delete the recording until someone listened to it."

"Why?" she asked.

"Chuck kept going on and on about how he wished he could go back to the first time he knew you and Erik were talking. How differently things might've gone if he acted sooner," he said.

"But-"

"Yeah, kid. I know you're happy with how things went. But they don't know the details. It wasn't hard for Chuck to get Mystique on his side. He said we had no idea what garbage Magneto was feeding ya. That you could be gone tomorrow," he said and she rolled her eyes.

"How many times do I gotta tell y'all I ain't going anywhere?" she asked, annoyed.

"You're going to see him right now," he countered.

"'Cause I miss him," she exclaimed following it with a frustrated groan. "Look, I know I ain't gonna be able ta go and see Erik whenever I want once everyone's back and I'm busy with school, homework and helping all the students with their powers. But it's winter vacation," she said, stomping her foot on the floor. "Can't I just have a little fun before I'm responsible for everyone's well being again? Can't I be a little selfish for a couple of days?" she asked, irritated she even had to ask. "I ain't asking for that much, am I?" she asked.

She watched her uncle as a low growl emanated from his throat.

"That's all you want, a couple of days?" he asked.

"No, I want a hell of a lot more than that. I don't wanna haveta choice between y'all and him. But I know I ain't gonna get that so-"

"So you just wanna pick up where you left off and then ask him to walk away again?" he asked, grunted under his breath. It felt rhetorical so she didn't respond. "He'll do it," he growled. "He'll walk away for however long you want him gone," he said.

"I don't really want him gone," she shrugged. "But I don't wanna leave the X-Men either. If this is what I can have for now, then I'll take it and we both know Erik's gonna do whatever I need him to," she said.

"Yeah, he will," he replied, before she watched him cross his arms over his chest, as he stood up straight. "So, we're back to where we were yesterday morning. Your mom needs to know that he can't hurt you. Not because he cares about you," he said mockingly. "But because he can't touch a hair on your fucking head unless you let him," he said.

Rogue took a breath, glancing away from him.

"If Mystique knows that, maybe you can sneak away more often than you're thinking," he added.

Rogue quickly met his glance, hoping building back up, but she-

'No,' she sighed, needing to temper her expectations. 'Can't let myself ta get- I don't want any more disappointment this week,' she told herself before she nodded. "Yeah, okay," she agreed, as she placed one hand on her hip. "But can I tell her tonight, after I see Erik?" she asked.

"Yeah, you can go see loverboy," her uncle acquiesced, almost rolling his eyes, but catching himself mid-roll.

"Thanks, Uncle Jimmy," she said, smiling, turning to leave as she pulled out her cell and texted:

'On my way! 3'

As she pocketed the phone in her back pocket she recalled-

"Erik asked if you'd want one of his telepaths putting up a metal block in your mind so we don't gotta rely on Prof keeping his word," she relayed. "If ya don't want some stranger doing it, I could borrow telepathy and handle it myself," she offered; building off Erik's idea to make it more palatable to her uncle.

"… I'll think about it," he said.

Tuesday December 23rd 2002, 12:10 pm

To Rogue's surprise, Erik was already in Jericho when she landed in front of his house for the second time that week. He was waiting for her, a satisfied grin on his face, standing in his black pants and dark purple sweater. More surprisingly, he had a wicker picnic basket looped over his left arm.

"I thought ya said you were meeting me here," she commented as she walked up to him. He smiled, placing his right hand on her shoulder before he leaned in for a kiss.

"I meant that, initially. However, once I decided which first I'd hoped to explore with you this afternoon, I realized it required some manner of preparation," he told her.

"We're going on a picnic or something?" she asked. He only smirked at her as he removed his hand from her shoulder and held it out, offering it to her.

"Shall we?" he asked.

Rogue took a breath, she didn't know what this was. Well, she knew what it wasn't going to be. And whatever this was, he clearly wanted it to be a surprise. She sighed as she placed her hand in his.

"Lead the way, Erik," she said.

With that his feet rose off the ground, and she was quick to follow suit. They flew directly upwards and she felt a shield form around them and knew that they were now invisible to the rest of the world.

She took in their surroundings, enjoying the view as the house and the trees grew smaller and smaller. And she wondered at what points were they going to turn, and head north, south, east or west.

Finally, they turned south. Rogue felt butterflies dancing in her stomach, wondering where he was taking her, as they flew, hand-in-hand.

Tuesday December 23rd 2002, around 1:30pm.

Rogue sat with Magneto on a sprawled out sheet, atop a metal slab Erik had placed, on the ground in Central Park, Manhattan. Turns out it was a picnic he had taken her on and the food he prepared; an eclectic charcuterie board full of cheeses, meats, and fruits, had been a delight to partake in.

Perhaps someone else would have considered a winter picnic an ill-conceived choice of activity, but with both of them having magnetism at their disposal, Erik had shown her how to create a shield to keep the cold at bay. The area of the park he had selected was lovely, deep in the trees. It made an effective barrier against most of the city with its snow covered trees and grass. It had been a scenic lunch and now Erik was cleaning up, drawing their unused items back into the wooden basket.

"So, ya got anything else planned?" she asked. Erik chuckled.

"A lesser man might presume you were unsatisfied with our lunch," he mused. "That you're keen to move on to the next adventure. I know that it is that you simply don't wish to return to the institute yet," he smiled at her as he continued to load the basket.

"I really don't," she sighed, with a half smile.

"Come with me," he said pleasantly as he stood.

She was quick to her feet, ready to follow him and he led her, arm-in-arm around the park; he carried the wooden basket in his other hand.

Once again, Rogue felt like she could actually take a breath and just exist, as she glanced around at the peaceful scenic setting. Magneto drew them toward a rather large snow-covered tree, devoid of any others, and pulled her to stand in front of him.

His warm hand went to cup her cheek and her eyes fluttered closed as he leaned in for a kiss and she heard the basket drop to the ground. She allowed a soft mew to leave her, as she placed her hands on his chest.

She parted her lips, hinting, hoping he would- She moaned again as he deepened the kiss, their tongue dancing around the others. She took a step back and he came with her, until she was pinned between him and the tree. It felt so good to have his body pressed up against her again. He was so warm and his kiss, something that couldn't be relocated remotely, was something she missed dearly.

"Anna-Marie," he said huskily, as he pulled back. Staring up into his eyes, she knew she wasn't the only one who wanted to continue.

"Erik," she whispered, her hands taking in fist-fulls of his coat, hoping he wouldn't pull away further. "What if we didn't do anything new?" she asked him, cocking her head against his hand. She saw doubt in his eyes, and he took a breath as if he was preparing himself to be the voice of reason once again. "Winter break's gonna be over soon and then I ain't gonna time for this- … I don't want ya despite anyone else, okay? I just want you," she said, trying to make him understand. "Can't we just enjoy this moment that I was able ta steal for us?" she asked him. "Please?" she asked, practically begging him.

"Anna-Marie-" he said, pity plain to see across his features and she knew he was getting ready to say no again.

"Just- let's go back ta Jericho, okay? You can send me home if ya wanna-"

"I don't want to," he said strongly, his grip tightening against her cheek. "What I want is you by my side. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Anna-Marie," he said. He leaned in and kissed her, even as her wide-eyes stayed open. "But I won't ask you to give up-"

"I know," she said. "We've been over it," she said. "And I-... I'm sorry I can't give ya what ya really want from me-"

He pulled her lips back against his and she moaned against his mouth. He tilted her head back, kissing her deeply.

"You never have to apologize to me for choosing to live your life on your terms," he said, firmly. "I apologize that I can't bend mine to better accommodate what you require from me," he said.

"Erik," she gasped before she pushed her lips and her body up against his. She hiked her leg up. He was quick to take hold of her hips, her arms looping around his neck, as he picked up her to straddle his waist. "This ain't what ya asked me for," she reminded him as she could feel his hot breath on her face and his hardened cock against her jeans.

"I know," he said, before he pressed his lips back to hers. She felt the pressure against her back dissipate, as he lifted them up into the air. A magnetic shield formed around them, before he shot them back into the sky and giving the direction, she assumed back to Jericho.