Winter reunion

[mistressofelements]

Ororo didn't really have a problem with Christmas, but she didn't really care about it either and the Professor... well, he really sort of did. Not that he would ever force anyone to get into the spirit of things, everyone was quite free to do as they pleased when it came to that but it could not be denied that the mansion became increasingly jolly the closer they got to Christmas day.

In the end, she decided that she might in fact wish to spend the holidays elsewhere.

Things had been rocky with Erik of late, to say the least, and she wasn't entirely sure if he would actually welcome her presence, but she still sent him the adress to the cabin she'd rented together with the message "I have something for you", and... well, hoped.

Comments

[prefers_magneto]

He didn't come immediately. He spent some time debating whether to go at all.

In the end, of course he did. He didn't simply enter, though, as he once might have. He knocked on the door, his expression stoney.

[mistressofelements]

She opened the door, eyes widening in surprise at seeing him even though her heart had skipped a hopeful beat when she heard the knock.

"You came."

She wondered then if he meant to end their dangerous dance by ending her at last. She had no illusions about him not being both able and willing to hurt her if he thought it necessary, and he'd called her a traitor...

Things don't tend to end well for those who betray men like Erik.

[prefers_magneto]

"You asked me to. I'm not sure why. You seemed pretty clear on your choice."

He didn't step inside yet.

[mistressofelements]

Why had she asked him to come?

Well, it was all pretty simple, really. She loved him. She couldn't seem to stop no matter what. She couldn't choose to walk his path but... Her heart had chosen him.

She had a feeling that as far as he was concerned they were through with one another, though he did come. He might look at her with ice in his eyes, but all it had taken for him to come to her was her asking.

"But you came anyway."

[prefers_magneto]

"You came with me that night just to throw me over," Erik said. He pushed past her, through the door, into the rustic living space, and turned to look at her. "I want to know why."

[mistressofelements]

"I came with you because you were right. That lab needed to be dealt with. We don't need to be cured, we are not a disease."

It still makes her furious to think about it, really, which is why there is a very real drop in temperature in the room that isn't just because of the open door that she is now closing.

"But I had to let Charles know, because you always go too far."

[prefers_magneto]

"You don't go far enough," Erik persisted in a low growl. "That's why we're still fighting a war that should be over."

[mistressofelements]

"I know that's what you think."

And she knew she would probably have to have this discussion with him multiple times a day if for some reason he decided that he still wanted her around.

She was actually a lot more fine with that than she would ever have thought possible.

"But what you don't understand is that I cannot allow myself to think that way. Do you even realise the damage I could cause if I let my fear and anger rule me like you're doing?"

Yes. Present tense. What she could cause. Not what she could have caused.

[prefers_magneto]

"They don't rule me. You think it's fear. It's experience. You think I'm some kind of hysteric! I know what will happen to us if we let it. I've seen it."

No, he missed the tense completely. She got him fired up.

"You and Charles, safe in isolation in his big, friendly house might think I'm somehow overreacting, but we're talking about the survival of our race, Ororo. And you're not disagreeing with me, now. You're actively sabotaging me."

[mistressofelements]

"I'm not doing anything I haven't done before. I'm one of the X-men, remember?"

The difference now perhaps being that Erik has a more personal investment in her allegiance.

She hurt him, she knows that, but how can she say that she's sorry?

She's not.

There is no making this situation better, they'll just have to live with it and keep moving. Together or apart.

[prefers_magneto]

"You came with me," he said. He advanced a couple of steps towards her, his eyes hard. "You came with me. What you always do is tell me 'no'."

[mistressofelements]

"I came with you, yes. Because I needed you."

She stood her ground,refusing to be intimidated by him.

"You, Erik. Not your cause."

[prefers_magneto]

"The information we could have gotten from that place could have saved you."

In the end, they'd escaped but empty-handed. One of his men had had the documents in his hand, but was intercepted by Scott Summers, and they were lost.

"I told you that. And you called them. Why? To save the scientist that assaulted you and thought that was fine?"

[mistressofelements]

"To save lives."

The scientists were people too. Misguided people yes, but that didn't mean they'd lost their right to be safe and alive, just like being mutants did not make Erik and Ororo less deserving of living free lives.

"And I was saved, Erik. Do you seriously think the professor would ignore information that could create an antidote?"

[prefers_magneto]

As far as he was concerned, people who tried to kill him and people like him deserved what they got. But she said something he couldn't miss and it distracted him. He narrowed his eyes and watched her face.

"What are you talking about?"

[mistressofelements]

For a moment, her eyes turned a solid white as she reached out with her powers to connect with the world around them. She didn't do more that that, though she would if he needed more proof.

"The cure... It doesn't really work. Over time the effect wears off. We found a way to help that process along."

[prefers_magneto]

"Using the research you stole from me," Erik concluded flatly.

His tone is flat, but there's something besides ice in his eyes. A small spark.

"It's not permanent? How long does it last without 'help'?"

[mistressofelements]

"That you in turn had stolen from the lab."

No, she wasn't going to let him have the moral high ground there. Her eyes returned back to their usual colour as she kept talking.

"And we don't know. My cells were reverting back to their normal state relatively quickly."

But then she was one of the most powerful mutants in existence.

[prefers_magneto]

"Congratulations. You didn't end up needing me after all. Is that why you invited me here? To gloat? Your way won and my way lost?"

[mistressofelements]

That does make her step back, naked hurt on her face for a moment.

"You really think I would do that?"

[prefers_magneto]

He wants to say 'yes' because it's spiteful, but he can't because it isn't true. He looks away, putting his hands in his pockets.

"No," he admits.

[mistressofelements]

"The information on how to reverse the cure... We'll share it with you. If you want it."

If he didn't, he was a fool.

[prefers_magneto]

"If we still need it, it's because the 'cure' is still out there," he told her, pointing out, beyond the cabin. "And whose fault is that?" He looked at her again, unable to maintain the facade, his gaze sad and tired and pained. "You should have let us clean house. Your hands would be clean, his hands would be clean and the problem would be gone."

[mistressofelements]

She stepped closer to him again, and if he let her she would carefully reach out to take his hands.

"And what about your hands? I care about you too much to just... Treat you like some sort of tool or weapon, don't you know that?"

[prefers_magneto]

He does let her, even as he argues her logic.

"But that's what I am. My hands have been dirty since I was thirteen years old. The only difference is that now I decide what my targets are, and I protect our people. I have chosen to protect our people because somebody has to and I can. I won't watch them herded and slaughtered; not again. I won't allow it to stand. I won't let them have the means, because when they achieve the means, they'll use it. Don't you understand? There's no 'I told you so' at the end of this scenario. It's life or death, for every single one of us."