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Rogue sank onto one of the brown leather sofas to the left of the grand staircase within the Sanctum Sanctorum. Beside her, she looked at the large portrait of Doctor Strange and his adorable beagle, Bats, that hung on the wall. Her gaze slowly traveled up the wall to the walkway above, where Magneto and Wanda were engaged in a heated conversation. She knew that eavesdropping was awfully rude, but she was too morbidly curious to learn more about the universe Wanda came from.
She couldn’t hear a whole lot — not with Wade and Logan cutting it up across the room — but she’d managed to eke out a few more details about Wanda’s fraught relationship with her father in her universe. The same universe where she and Magneto were happily married with a child of their own. It made her heart hurt to think of that version of herself. How lucky she was. A baby. Something that was out of the realm of possibility for her here.
“Ma chérie,” Remy said as he plopped down on the sofa beside her, quickly invading her space with an arm swung over her shoulders. “You’re not still thinking about what the witch said to you, are you?”
“Hmm?” Rogue feigned ignorance as she turned to face her husband.
“About you and Magneto.” He shuddered dramatically. “Something awful must’ve been wrong with that version of you to fall so far as to shack up with that old man.”
She blinked a few times before she found something to say in response to all of that. “I’m sure she had her reasons.”
Remy squinted, putting on an act like he was thinking of a reason. “I bet I know what happened! She just hadn’t met me yet. Bet she’d be awfully jealous of what you’ve got going on here.”
“I bet,” Rogue offered half-heartedly. She reached for the mug sitting on the coffee table in front of her as an excuse to shift away from him. “I’m gonna get some more tea, sugah, I’ll be back in a minute. Don’t miss me too much.”
Remy didn’t know that she had lied to Wanda about her own history with Magneto. It was ancient history, as far as she had considered… Up until now, at least. It wasn’t as if Remy had ever asked her about her past relationships, even when he reminisced about his own. And it wasn’t something she would’ve given up without prompting.
As Rogue bee-lined for the kitchen, her gaze traveled upwards again, and this time she locked eyes with Magneto. Her Magneto. Even after all this time, he still managed to make her heart skip a beat just by looking at her like that.
Rogue wasn’t the least bit surprised when he joined her in the kitchen shortly thereafter, while the kettle was still whistling on the stovetop.
“I know that I promised that I would keep my distance,” he planted his palms on the kitchen island that stood between them, his piercing blue gaze fixed on her. “But it seemed as though you also wished to know about our counterparts.”
Rogue folded her arms across her chest and leveled him with a look. “I don’t know what gave you that impression.” She jutted her chin up, trying her best to act unaffected by any of this. “If I wanted to know, I would’ve asked Wanda myself.”
“I see,” Magneto tilted his head, studying her. “In that case, I’ll leave you be.” He slowly turned to leave, like he knew exactly what she was about to do. He knew her. Better than almost anyone.
“Oh, now, wait just a minute!” Rogue stomped her foot. “I do wanna know what she told you about… us.”
Magneto turned back to face her with an expression so soft it made Rogue feel weak in the knees. She hadn’t seen that expression in so long. He’d stuck to the promise he made her. They’d been nothing more than strangers, occasional allies, and acquaintances at best.
“Once Wanda finished making me atone for the sins of her father, she permitted me to learn about our son.” Magneto’s voice wavered, and Rogue felt a knot of emotion form in her throat. “We named him after Charles. He is a clever, mischievous boy. He did not inherit either of our abilities, nor even those of Wanda or Pietro. He is still young, but he is already showing strong psychic abilities.”
Rogue’s hand went to her heart, as though rubbing the spot above it would ease the stab of pain she felt as she pictured a child she would never know. “What… what does he look like?”
“He has your green eyes,” Magneto offered, smiling sadly. “Blonde hair, not unlike my own when I was younger.” His lips parted, but he stopped himself from saying something.
Rogue seized on it. “What is it? What else did Wanda tell you?”
He sighed heavily as he leaned against the counter between them once more. “Wanda was surprised to learn that you and I do not share a history here — a fact that I did not dispute.”
“Why’s that?”
“She has traveled between universes more than either of us,” Magneto explained, his brows furrowed as he searched for his words. “She has yet to encounter a universe where you and I do not share a connection.”
Rogue’s eyes widened. “What about our baby?” It felt so strange to say that, but it also felt so strangely right to say it.
Magneto nodded slowly. “She knew of at least three other universes where Charles was born. Even one where we had him in the midst of a cataclysmic apocalypse.” He looked away then, swallowing thickly. “We had a son named Magnus in another universe. Though I would not ask for that universe to become our own.”
Rogue didn’t question what was left unsaid; the look on his face spoke volumes. Whatever happened in that universe, she had an inkling it had to do with their child or herself. He wouldn’t look so sorrowful if he had met a tragic fate. “Did she tell you how our children happened?”
His brows shot up at that line of questioning. “No, I did not ask my daughter how our son was conceived. I would assume he was made the typical way children are conceived.”
Rogue rolled her eyes dramatically as her cheeks burned hot. “Oh, you old coot! You know that’s not what I was askin’ you.” She gave him an expectant look. “I was askin’ if she knew how we got together.”
Magneto chuckled and shook his head. “Understandably, she did not divulge those details. Though she wasn’t surprised to see you with LeBeau.” He shrugged a shoulder. “I would assume that — in those universes — you and I rekindled our relationship and then our son was born.”
“In those universes,” Rogue repeated, fixating on the way he differentiated between the two.
“Yes,” he drummed his fingertips against the countertop, staring her down across the expanse between them. “After all, we are not in one of those universes, are we? Perhaps you and your husband will defy the odds here.”
Rogue gave a fervent shake of her head. “Remy doesn’t want kids.”
“Or perhaps,” Magneto began gently. “He knows that it would be difficult for you to conceive a child with him, and he doesn’t wish to put that pressure on you.”
“That doesn’t sound like Remy at all, sugah,” Rogue scoffed a little, turning her back on him to take the kettle off the burner. “He loves nothing more than to needle me about things he wants. If he wanted a baby, he’d find a way to make me wear one of those damn collars for nine months without any nasty adverse reactions.”
“And what about you?” He questioned, and Rogue became distinctly aware of the fact that he was no longer on the other side of the kitchen island. Still, she kept her back to him as she poured the hot water into her teacup. “What do you want?”
“I want a lot of things I can’t have, Erik.” She told him, using his name for the first time in years. “And I don’t want you thinkin’ I settled. Everyone always thinks that, but I do love Remy. No one was surprised when we got together. Two southerners, with silly accents everyone’s always teasin’ about. We’ve always sort of understood each other, I guess, but…” Rogue turned slowly, now using her hot cup of tea as a barrier between them. “After we got hitched, I started thinkin’ I made a mistake. Terrible timing, I know. I don’t know what changed, aside from Remy actin’ like himself. Like his real self. No pretendin’.” She pursed her lips as she looked up at Erik then. “I love him, but I don’t really like him.”
“I can understand that,” Erik told her gently. “My own marriage was fraught with conflict that we were ignorant of before we married. Perhaps time will improve your dynamic.”
“You don’t mean that,” Rogue snipped. “How are you so good at the self-sacrificing act, sugah? I know you don’t want anything to improve between me and him, cause it’ll lead me back to you.”
“Your words, not mine.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you gonna try to convince me you don’t think about it? I bet you’re feelin’ all sorts of jealous after hearin’ about all those other versions of us.” Erik set his jaw hard, refusing to rise to meet her bait. “Aw, c’mon, Erik. I saw the way you looked when I told Wanda nothin’ ever happened between us.”
Against her better judgment, Rogue set the teacup down on the counter behind her. Erik took the gesture as the permission it was, and he closed the distance between them, crowding into her space. “You should know better, Anna Marie.” He dropped his voice low. “You can’t tell a man who vowed to always love you that you’re unhappy in your marriage and not expect him to seize on that opportunity.”
Rogue drew in a sharp, shuddery breath as she tried — and failed — to keep her expression in check. Her face was as hot as the sudden heat pooling between her thighs as she met his gaze. “We can’t do this, Erik,” she managed to get the words out, trying to grapple with reason and desire. “Remy’s gonna come looking for me if I’m gone much longer.”
“Is that the only reason you can’t do this?” Erik questioned, lowering his gaze to her lips. “Because he might catch his wife with the man she claimed she didn’t know?” He leaned in close, like he meant to kiss her. She hated that he stopped short of kissing her, instead letting the brush of his breath make her pine for it.
“What do you want me to say, Erik?” Rogue pressed her palms against his chest, but she made no effort to push him away. “Do you want to hear that I still think about you? That I’ve dreamed about you and woke up so damn disappointed that you weren’t the man next to me?” She cocked her head to the side, daring him to say it. “Or maybe you want me to admit that I want this universe to be like all the others. That I want you to give me the baby of my dreams. That I want that more than I’ve ever wanted anything else.”
Erik’s eyes widened at her admission, and they were close enough that she could feel the way he drew in a sudden breath and see the way his body tensed with anticipation. “Don’t say things you don’t mean, Anna Marie.”
“When have I ever said somethin’ to you that I didn’t mean?” She jabbed her finger into the center of his chest. “You’ve always had a way with makin’ me spill my guts about things I shouldn’t want to admit to, sugah.”
Erik curled his hand around hers, and she ached to feel his skin pressed against her own again. “What do you propose we do then?” He questioned, and there was an edge to his words that took her by surprise. “Do you expect me to give you the baby of your dreams and then let you go back to him? What would you tell him, Rogue? Would you let him claim my child as his own? Perhaps Kurt would lend you a divine vision of a mutant Messiah.” He dropped her hand and instead pressed his palm flat against her lower belly. “If you want our child to be part of our world, then it will be our child. I don’t want there to be a single doubt that he is mine.”
Rogue shook her head. She wouldn’t do that to him. She wouldn’t make him watch someone else raise their child. She wouldn’t want Remy anywhere near their child. But the words were too difficult to form when a single touch had her entire body abuzz with molten desire. Instead, Rogue curled her hand around the back of his neck and dragged him down so she could kiss him.
Erik devoured her. He cradled her face and kissed her hard, pinning her between the firm weight of his body and the countertop behind her. She would’ve let him have her right then and there. If only the occasional laughter from down the hall wasn’t an ever-present reminder that they weren’t alone. She didn’t want Remy to walk in on them — but not because of him. She didn’t want him to spoil the moment for her.
Rogue kept her lips close to his as she pulled back to catch her breath. “There’s a bedroom upstairs,” she whispered, toying with the hair at the nape of his neck. “Meet me there in twenty minutes.”
“I’ll be there.” He sealed the promise with another searing kiss.
~
Eighteen minutes later, Rogue found herself pacing the floor in the aforementioned bedroom. In two minutes, Erik would be there. In two minutes, she’d be in his arms again. In two minutes, she’d finally right a wrong that she had let fester for too long. Getting away from Remy had been surprisingly easy. She had thought he might try to follow after her, but he had been so wrapped up in a game of poker with Wade and Logan that he had done little more than slap her ass when she mentioned exploring the sprawling townhouse. He hadn’t even realized how a single gesture had driven her straight into another man’s arms.
The door opened with a minute to spare on the clock.
“You’re really here,” Erik drawled out as he stepped inside and locked the door behind him. “I thought you might think better of this.”
Rogue shook her head, “I would never forgive myself if I let this slip through my fingers, sugah.” As if to prove her point, she stripped off her gloves and let them fall to the floor. “I think I always knew we’d end up back here, and it sounds like every version of us knew it too.”
Erik closed the distance between them in four quick strides, and she could barely contain the shiver that ran down her spine when he took her hands into his. She felt the way her powers tugged at his own, and the sensation brought such a strange sense of relief to her. There was no collar around her throat to throttle her powers and make her feel numb. It was so different from what she had been forced to accept.
“You may call me an old fool, if you wish,” Erik told her as he lifted her hands to his lips. He kissed each knuckle before he continued. “But I need to know what this means for us before I let it go any further.”
“You might be old, but you’re no fool, Erik.” Rogue gave his hands a reassuring squeeze. “I don’t blame you for wonderin’ what any of this means. I’ve made you pretend you barely know me for years, and now here I am askin’ you to give me a baby.” She laughed a little at just how insane that sounded, shaking her head. “I know you want an answer now, but… What if I promise to give you an answer after?”
“After?” Erik questions, releasing his hold on one of her hands. “After what, Rogue? After tonight?” He reached out to rest his hand on her slim stomach once more. “After you’re showing?” He leaned in closer. “After you’ve given birth to our child?”
Rogue shook her head. “I wouldn’t make you wait that long, Erik. I promise I’ll tell you what my plan is as soon as I figure it out. I just need to… I need to make sure I’m not just pining for something I know I can’t have here.”
“You can have me here,” Erik reminded her in a low voice. “You can have this. Us. The future that every other version of us seems to have. We don’t have to be the differential.”
“I never should’a married him. It makes everything so much harder.” She took a step closer to him, slinging her arm around his middle and sinking against his chest. “I kept thinkin’ you’d show up and stop me, but that’s not the kind of man you are. You make promises you keep.”
“And I promised you that I would always be here when you were ready to come back to me.” Erik pressed his lips to the top of her head, his breath warm against his scalp. “After everything Wanda told me about these other versions of us that she’s met, that is the one constant. I will always wait for you to be ready for us.”
“I know you will,” From where Rogue had her cheek pressed to his chest, she could hear his heartbeat. “But I need you to trust me when I promise you that I just need time to figure all of this out. Becoming unmarried isn’t just somethin’ I can do with the snap of my fingers.”
Erik settled his hand at the small of her back, comforting her gently. “Is that what you want?”
Rogue nodded against his chest. “I’ve never been able to see a real future with him. It always felt like wingin’ it, which can be fun for a little bit.” She pulled back then, misty eyed as she looked up at him. “But I promise you, I won’t make you endure any kind of heartache. I’m not gonna run back to him. Especially not if you’re gonna give me a baby tonight.”
“You think it’ll happen tonight?” He questioned, eyeing her lips. “We might have to try a few times.”
Rogue grinned up at him. “Trying is half the fun, isn’t it?” She gave his chest a playful push in the direction of the bed. “Now, I’m done worrying about how I’m gonna quit being hitched. I don’t wanna think about him if you’re gonna fuck me.”
“And I am going to fuck you,” Erik drawled out as he cradled her jaw and kissed her hard. The man knew how to kiss. He kissed her like a man who had been starving for her kisses. His kisses made it easy for her to forget everyone else — the world didn’t matter when his mouth was on hers.
Erik kept kissing her as he walked backwards toward the bed. Once he was at the foot of the bed, he hoisted her up into his arms and spun them around so she was perched atop the mattress. Her legs freely parted to accommodate him as he settled between them. Like this, she could feel the hard length of his straining against his suit.
Rogue hooked a leg around his hips, pulling him even closer as he started pulling at the closures of her uniform. His powers made quick work of the metal fastenings, and within a matter of seconds he had her suit pooled around her waist.
She was initially disappointed when he finally broke away from their kiss, but then trailed open-mouth kisses down her throat. A needy sound escaped from her as she rocked against his cock and arched her chest towards his needy mouth. His lips latched onto her nipple, tongue teasing it to a point as his hand palmed needily at her other breast. The sensation traveled straight to her cunt, stoking her need for him to a fever pitch.
Her first orgasm took her by surprise as he drew it from her with nothing more than the scrape of his teeth over her erect nipple. She cried out softly as her body clenched around nothing, forcing her to grind herself against his cock like some animal in heat.
“I see you’re still so sensitive,” Erik drawled out as he lazily stroked his thumb over her other nipple. Each little twist made her tremble with a desire that had yet to be sated. “I wonder if I could still command you to come for me.”
Red-faced, Rogue tugged at his hair to make him look at her. The smug look of satisfaction he wore did unspeakable things to her. “You can try that later, sugah. Right now, I think you know what I want.”
Erik grabbed at her hip and rocked forward to rut against her still-covered cunt. The friction made her yelp and roll her hips needily. “You didn’t think I’d want to rush this, did you?” He taunted, tracing his finger between the valley of her breasts and down her stomach. “You should know me better than that, Rogue.”
“Erik,” she whined, digging her heel into his ass. “I can feel how bad you wanna fuck me. Why should either of us wait?”
Erik’s hand traveled over her bunched-up suit and down between her thighs, where they were pressed so close and yet so far apart. He kept his eyes pinned to her face as he flattened his thumb over her throbbing clit and stroked it in a tight circle.
Rogue’s lips parted, and she felt a damn-near feral cry crawl up her throat. Erik was quick to silence it by clamping his hand over her mouth and telling her to hush. It was utterly erotic the way he locked eyes with her and watched as he dragged her over the edge again. He didn’t let up, either. She didn’t even know if he made her come again, or if he’d just made it last and last.
She slumped back against the mattress as he maneuvered her lust-heavy limbs to get her suit off the rest of the way. At last, she thought he might finally fuck her, but even through bleary eyes she could see that he was still fully dressed as he dragged her legs over his shoulders and settled between her thighs.
Rogue let go of the expectations she had grown accustomed to when it came to sex. There was no collar around her throat, making everything numb, no guiding hand atop her head, or hesitant reciprocation. She didn’t have to put on a show for him.
Erik made her come apart again. This time, with a pair of deliciously thick fingers buried in her cunt and his lips wrapped around her too-tender clit. He lapped at it in time with the throbbing pulse she felt radiating through her body. When she came, she came with a rushing release that got all of his lips and his beard and his suit. Neither of them cared.
If anything, the taste of herself made her even more desperate to kiss him when he hauled her limp body up to rest against his chest. A handful of orgasms didn’t stop Rogue from working to undress him, and he didn’t stop her this time for chasing what she wanted.
“Look at my poor, sugah,” Rogue crooned as she wrapped her fingers around his cock and gave him a teasing stroke. His lashes fluttered, and his lips parted with a little groan, and she savored every second of the power she wielded in that moment. “If you didn’t care so much about making me feel so good, you’d already have me filled up.” She teasingly pouted at him. “Not that I didn’t enjoy you making me come, but I wanted your cock.”
For an old man, Erik was fast. He lunged forward and kissed her hard, teeth dragging over her bottom lip. But before she could wrap her legs around his hips and beg him to fuck her just like that, he had her on her stomach, bent over the foot of the bed. Rogue felt awfully exposed like that. The cool air licked at her slick cunt, making her shudder at the thought of what she must look like to him.
Erik didn’t give her too much time to dwell on those thoughts, however. He draped his body over her back, his thighs pressed against the backs of hers. She gasped at the feel of his cock rutting against her cunt, so close to giving her what she wanted.
With his lips close to her ear, Erik carefully cradled her throat, pulling her focus back to his words. “I need you to tell me what you want, Anne Marie.”
Rogue flushed even hotter. “I want you to fuck me.”
“Why?”
She squirmed back against him. “Because I missed you.”
Erik shook his head. “Tell me why. Exactly why.”
Rogue inhaled sharply when she felt his hand slide beneath her, a firm weight pressed against her lower belly. “Erik, please!” She urged. “Please, please, please.” The press of his hand felt even more. “Breed me!” The words slipped out of her a needy rush, and there was no shame to them. Erik didn’t mock her, didn’t make her feel silly for admitting something like that. He just gave her what she begged him for.
Erik’s cock filled her suddenly, stretching her in ways she hadn’t felt since the last time he was between her thighs. And all the while, he kept his hand pressed against her belly. A reminder of what they both wanted.
Rogue was beside herself as he fucked her. He’d fucked her so thoroughly before actually fucking her, she felt like nothing more than a live nerve ending. The angle had him rutting up against that sweet spot within her that his fingers had teased, and her clit was deliciously tormented by each thrust of his hips.
She came again with his cock buried within her, and the clench of her cunt pulled him over the edge with her. Her name was heavy on his tongue as he pressed his face into her curls and slumped atop her. She relished the weight of his body, particularly because it made her even more aware of the hand trapped between her stomach and the bed.
Rogue felt half-mad from the want of it. She wanted proof that they could have that life too. It wasn’t fair that every other version of her already had Erik’s baby in her arms. She was envious of every version of them that had already been through all the hard parts. She imagined what it would feel like to have his hand rest against a rounded belly. What it might feel like to have their baby kick and squirm within her. Her heart hurt with the want of it and the fear that they’d waited too long.
She drifted off like that, dreaming of the children she wanted with Erik.
~
Rogue startled awake a little while later. It took her a second to recognize the wood-paneled walls and the distinct hum of magic in the air. Erik was beside her on the bed with an arm possessively wrapped around her waist. She vaguely recalled him making her move further up the bed so they could sleep more comfortably. She also vaguely recalled putting up a fight when he suggested they get cleaned up and go their separate ways for the night.
“Erik,” Rogue murmured as she rolled closer, pressing a kiss to his chest above his heart. “Sugah, wake up.” She finally managed to rouse him with a kiss to the lips. “Hi.”
“Hello,” Erik drawled out, brushing a curl away from her face as he smiled at her. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“I guess I wore you out, old man,” she teased, leaning into his touch as he cradled her cheek. “As much as it pains me to admit you were right, but I think you ought to leave before we get caught like this.”
Erik’s brows pinched together briefly before his expression suddenly closed off. “Right. I should leave.”
Rogue realized her mistake and did the only thing she could think of to keep him on the bed for a moment longer. She swung her leg over his hips and climbed on top of him, her hair hanging like a curtain around them as she looked down at him. “I didn’t mean it like that! No, no, no.”
“It’s alright if you did mean it like that,” Erik told her gently. He was too good to her. Too understanding. How was he so good at love without expectations?
“Just give me time to end things with him.” Rogue took his face into her hands. “I don’t want him causing trouble for us. Especially if you succeeded at giving me a baby tonight.” She leaned down to kiss away his worries. “I don’t want him to question anything about whose baby I’m having.”
“Does that mean I won’t have to torture myself with the thought of you two together?” Erik questioned quietly, not quite meeting her eyes as he settled his hands on her hips.
Rogue shook her head and kissed him. “I know it doesn’t mean much, considering I’m cheating on my husband right now, but I promise you, sugah, I’m not that kind of gal.”
“Just don’t make me wait too long,” Erik told her, rubbing his thumbs against her hips in little patterns.
“I won’t. I promise.” She kissed him again, and this time she let herself get lost in the kiss. She had forgotten just how easy it was to get lost in Erik Lehnsherr. To forget about everything else and let time slip away from them as she sank down on his cock. Rogue hated herself for letting people get in her head and convince her that he wasn’t good for her. She’d wasted so many years being stubborn about the best thing that had ever been hers.
~
By the time Rogue and Magneto finally untangled their limbs, said their goodnights, and stole their final kisses, Remy was already asleep in the room that he had claimed as theirs. His breath smelled like the cheap beer he’d had with Wade and Logan, and it made Rogue gag a little when he rolled toward her to toss an arm over her waist. It all felt wrong. His touch. His presence.
Rogue was struck by how little guilt she felt about crawling into bed with Remy while Erik’s seed left her panties slick between her thighs.
She rolled away from him, just far enough that his arm slipped off of her, and he made no further effort to grab at her. If she played her cards right, she knew she might be able to beat him to the sunrise and not have to make up an excuse about not wanting to put on her collar. Once Remy sobered up, she’d tell him she wanted space. She had it all planned out.
Rogue fell asleep with her hand on her belly, praying that this universe wasn’t the exception to everything Wanda had seen.