willowaus | Magneto/Rogue, Nighttime Wanderings

Posting this here to in order to have it somewhere. :P

Title: Nighttime Wanderings
Author: willowaus
Fandom: XMFF
Pairing: Bobby/Rogue, Magneto/Rogue
Summary: When nightmares keep Rogue awake, she wanders with an unwanted presence keeping watch.
Rating: PG
A/N: First time posting in the xmff community. Thanks to omaetoy for beta-ing this fic.

With a breathless gasp she awakens, both hands above her, ready to ward off a blow. Her feet are tangled in the blankets and she lowers her hands to her sides, slowly evening out her breathing. A quick glance in her roommate’s direction lets her know that she is still asleep. Once again Marie is thankful that Jubilee is a sound sleeper.

She tries to conduct some of the breathing exercises the Professor has taught her, a feeble attempt to help her cope with the many minds inhabiting her own. Most of them are quiet now, leaving her alone and giving her little trouble. Only one comes to her when she least expects it, disturbing her dreams and interrupting her thoughts. ‘Magneto,’ she mouths, one hand moving to touch a strand of white hair.

His voice begins to whisper in her ear and she whimpers, turning to rest on her side, hands grappling for the pillow. “Go away,” she whispers harshly, eyes locked on Jubilee’s form for any movement.

‘Why won’t they come again?’ Magneto reiterates. ‘This time with real bullets instead of tranquilizers, leaving holes in this delicate skin.’

She can feel his hand run down her bare arm, and knows if she were to look she would see it there, even though she knows that it can’t be. ‘You know what will happen,’ he challenges, forcing images of life in Auschwitz upon her.

Blood seeps into her mouth as she bites on her lip to keep from crying out, afraid of waking Jubilee. ‘I hate you,’ she whispers, pushing away his phantom hands and pulling the covers back over her body.

His laughter fills her ears and she cannot fathom how she can detest and relish the same sound. ‘Why won’t you leave me alone?’ she asks him, closing her eyes, attempting to find her way back to sleep.

‘Why don’t you have Charles force me to?’ he responds, his hand caressing one of her white strands.

“Stop it!” she growls, moving her head.

Her eyes open and she freezes as she hears Jubilee stir. After a few seconds, her roommate seems to be once again in deep sleep. Marie glares at his presence in her mind and pushes the covers off of her, quickly escaping the confines of her room, silently wishing she could leave him behind as easily. The door closes with a soft click and her gaze goes to the large window at the end of the hall.
She flinches as she remembers the onslaught of glass and light, her own scream echoing in her ears. ‘Logan’s away tonight. Who would save you now if they came again?’ he questions.

‘I can take care of myself.’

She takes a moment to glare at his presence in the hallway before remembering that he isn’t really there. Her feet carry her away from the window, if not from him. ‘Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen,’ she catches herself counting, looking up to see the entrance to the hidden passageway nearest her room.

In her mind she can feel him smile and she quickly looks away, balling her fists up in anger and forcing herself to continue on. She steps onto one of the various elevators and leans against the cool surface of the wall. If she tries hard enough, she can remember the sound metal makes as it bends to her will.

‘No,’ she reprimands herself. ‘His will.’

For some reason that amuses him and she hears him chuckle. He waves his hand at the elevator door and even though she knows he did not cause it to open it still makes her jump. Marie moves quickly through the doorway and out into the hallways of the first level, eyes avoiding spots she had seen any soldiers in. Their images still haunt her waking thoughts and she suspects he has some control over that.

‘Why would I do that?’ Magneto inquires an amused lilt to his voice.

‘Why do you do anything you do to me?’ she counters and continues her trek, running a hand along the wall.

Her gloves are in her room and she is thankful that the hallways are bare. A few weeks ago, there would have been many more present, the memory of the attack on the school still fresh in all of their minds. She passes the front entrance to the school, images of the soldiers barging in through the front doors causing her to briefly pause.

‘Stop it!’ she demands, looking away from the doorway.

‘Why must you always assume it’s me who brings these images forth?’ Magneto questions and she sees him standing a few feet in front of her, inspecting some of the older statues that decorate the school.

She knows he helped Charl—no, the Professor, pick them out. “Who else would?” she mutters.

He turns to look at her and she turns away from his knowing gaze. “Rogue?” a drowsy voice calls out to her from behind and she turns, smiling at her boyfriend.

“Hey,” she says in greeting, embracing her bare arms around her body.

‘Iceman,’ Magneto snarls and she can feel his disdain for the younger mutant.

“You okay?” Bobby asks as he stands awkwardly before her. He looks like he is about to touch her before his hands drop to his sides.

Marie offers another smile, this one tight, as she forces herself to look away from his hands. “I couldn’t sleep,” she replies with a shrug.

“I was on my way to get some ice cream. I think there’s some Pistachio in the freezer,” Bobby offers with a grin.

She’s tempted to follow him and enjoy his company but the snort of disgust from Magneto stops her. He wouldn’t let her take pleasure in the endeavor. “I just need to take a walk,” she explains and Bobby nods.

“You know where I am if you need me, Rogue,” he tells her and retreats.

‘Don’t,’ she mutters to Magneto in warning as she continues her trek, not wanting to listen again about his opinion of Bobby. ‘He treats me well,’ she defends.

Magneto responds with a strangled laugh. ‘A dog would treat you well, Marie,’ he informs her.

‘Who would you suggest then, Erik?’ she counters and glares at his presence standing before her.

The look he gives her causes her to blush and look away, quickening her pace. “You aren’t real,” she murmurs, partially to remind herself of that fact.

His presence is silent for a few minutes and she relishes in the quiet, stopping inside the library to look at the chessboard set up by the window. She feels his gaze upon the game and quickly leaves the room. Playing against the Magneto in her mind was never an enjoyable experience. It always ended with her pushing over the board and then needing to create an excuse for her frustration to those who witnessed.

‘You’ll never become more skilled at the game if you avoid it,’ he cautions.

“I don’t care,” she says adamantly, wishing that was true.

‘Do you always avoid that which is arduous?’ he asks.

She glares in answer, forcing herself to walk faster through the hallways, even though she knows she can never lose him. She stops after a few feet and looks around to get her bearings, freezing as she realizes this was where she had escaped from on that night. Her hand traces the wood paneling of the doorway to the passage.

‘You know what can happen,’ Magneto whispers in her ear. ‘They will return.’

Sounds of gunfire echo through her ears and she falls to her knees beside the wall. Resting her head against the wall, she closes her eyes as the hallway changes before her eyes, becoming the cold concrete walls of the crematorium. Men with hollow eyes and numbers tattooed into their forearms cart bodies to the ovens. The smell of burning flesh overwhelms her senses and she cries out for him to stop.

Tears fall down her face as she realizes that this time she is not seeing people from his past but the faces of those she loves and cares for. Jubilee, Scott, Logan, and Bobby’s bodies are thrown into the new ovens. The images twist before her again and she watches as the school is attacked, the younger mutants gunned down, their blood staining the halls.

“Please,” she begs, clawing at the wall for release. “Erik, please.”

The images recede and she lays her hands flat against the wall, hiccupping as she tries to calm herself. ‘You know,’ he whispers in her ear, a ghostly hand caressing down her spine.

She freezes as she hears footsteps and listens to determine which direction they are coming from. Quickly, she stands and walks further down the hallway, away from the noise. She wipes at her face, brushing away tears and strands of hair. Her footsteps are silent and swift as she retreats to the far end of the mansion.

She stops outside one of the doorways and her hand hovers over the brass knob. ‘Don’t be foolish,’ Magneto murmurs and she grasps it, turning the knob quickly and pushing open the door. It closes behind her with a soft click.

The air in the room is musty and the layout all too familiar. She watches as he moves about the room, touching various items strewn about, smiling every so often at one or two of them. Warily, she moves away from the doorway and walks towards the bed. Her gaze travels to the leather bound journal resting on the nightstand and she takes it in her hands, running fingers over the silver embossed E that is in the middle. The book opens easily, revealing yellowed pages of writings and drawings.

“You were happy here,” she says as she reads a few of the passages, picking up from where she had stopped last time.
Magneto looks at her and nods. She places the book back on the nightstand and sighs. “The Professor wouldn’t approve of this,” she states, watching him with guarded eyes.

‘I suppose not,’ he responds without looking at her.

Marie pulls back the covers and climbs into the queen size bed, pulling them back over her as her head rests on the pillow. Her eyes close quickly and she curls up, hugging the pillow, letting the first tendrils of sleep capture her. She feels his hand caress her arm.

“I shouldn’t come here,” she murmurs as she feels Magneto lay beside her.

‘Yet, you always do,’ he replies, with a sardonic grin. She has no response for that.

‘Ten steps to the exit passage,’ he reminds her, taking comfort in that knowledge as sleep overtakes her.

The nightmares never come when she is here.

Magneto/Rogue, Nighttime Wanderings

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