Disclaimer: You should know all this by now. I don't own anything but the little plotbunny.
Dedication: This is dedicated to beHPhappy, for all of the kind reviews. Cheers!
Chapter 8
As it turns out, it was a false alarm. Mystique felt more than a little stupid for telling Erik before she was sure. He reassured her time and again that she was just being considerate of him, but she saw a hint of disappointment in his eyes. Hell, part of her was a little disappointed, too. But to avoid any more instances like that from occurring again, she made sure to obtain proper birth control the next week. Erik saw the package, and the way she saw him looking at it made her feel lower than she had been in months. He, however, didn't act any different from his normal loving self, and this, if possible, made her feel even worse.
"I know you're disappointed, and I'll admit, the idea was a little enthralling," he admitted one night, after trying to become intimate with her and failing. "But I like the idea more that I can enjoy what we have for the time we have it. Do you hate me for that?" He asked softly. She turned to face him, having been lying with her face opposite his.
"No," she whispered, eyes welling up with tears. "Never."
He hugged her close, and they remained molded together under the covers, letting all their emotions out for who knew how long.
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"Alright, thank you, Moira." Storm hung up on Moira MacTaggert, an old colleague and friend of the Professor's. And the news she relayed was definitely not good. Not good at all.
"Logan, can you come to my office right away?" She spoke into the intercom that ran throughout the school. Within minutes, he appeared in the doorway to the office.
"You rang?"
She smiled, but it quickly faded. "You might want to sit down for this, it's pretty intense." He gave her an odd look, and came over to sit on one of the comfortable chintz chairs in front of the desk.
"Okay, shoot."
Storm took a breath. "It was true, Moira just confirmed it. The cure isn't permanent for most mutants, maybe even all of them. They confirmed it at Worthington, all the test subjects are regaining their powers." She exhaled audibly.
"What about Rogue?" Logan asked, his eyebrows knitted together in concern. Storm knew he cared about the younger mutant, but she had to admit, it did bother her occasionally.
"She'll probably regain her powers soon, but we should focus on Magneto and Mystique." Logan's head snapped up.
"What about them?"
"There's a good chance they'll regain their powers as well, and we have to monitor them closely. I want you to go out there and watch them. I'll give you money for a hotel room, and you can take Bobby or Peter with you if you think it's necessary. Gizmo will continue to listen to their phone calls, and if he hears anything I'll give you the word to bring them back here." Logan nodded.
"When do you want me to leave?"
"As soon as possible."
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Merely a week and a half on the pill, Mystique was almost regretting it. They had turned somewhat reckless, and thus had 'adventures' twice more in the park. She thought she picked up poison oak or something in that area, and was constantly itching herself. It was embarrassing, especially while she was at work, and had to subtly go about it, or else driving herself crazy by not scratching. She tried various types of creams, since, after all, she did work at a drugstore. Nothing helped. What was funny was, Erik didn't catch it. They'd had sex twice after the park and he didn't get anything, while the itchy rash continued to spread down her legs.
She'd considered going to a doctor about it, but decided to wait until after she was done taking the pill, in case it might be a side effect. After all, she'd never seen a rash with grayish bumps before, so perhaps it was just a side effect, and would go away. That didn't make it any less itchy, however.
"Erik, are you sure you're not itchy, at least a little?" She was desperately clinging onto the hope that it was still something like poison oak.
"My dear, if my skin was irritable and itchy I'm sure I'd be the first person to know, and I'm not," he replied, somewhat moodily.
"What's wrong with you?" She asked, frowning. It wasn't like him to be so petulant.
"I have an enormous headache, and nothing seems to help," he muttered, rubbing his forehead.
"Didn't the medicine help?" She'd seen him take a few tylenol at least an hour ago, so wouldn't that have done anything?
"It didn't do anything at all, and it feels like it's getting worse." He groaned, standing up and heading towards the bedroom. "I'm going to lie down for a bit." He trudged into the bedroom and shut the door behind him, leaving Mystique sitting on the couch, frowning with concern.
She waited about twenty minutes, flipping through his book until she heard Erik's light snores from the other room. Getting up slowly, she tiptoed into the bedroom, and eased into bed next to him. He stirred when she stroked his arm, but didn't wake. She draped her arm over his, and wiggled closer so that she could easily smell his musky cologne. With a light sigh, she nodded off, content.
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"Did you have a headache too?" He asked, seeing her eyes fluttering open. He'd awoken refreshed, and seen her curled up next to him. It was so adorable, and she did it even though he'd been in a terrible mood most of the day.
"No, but did yours go away?" She asked, smiling up at him as he cupped her cheek with his hand.
"It did indeed. Maybe all I need is you."
The tender moment was ruined, however, by her cursing and itching herself angrily. "Damn rash," she muttered darkly, scratching the insides of her legs.
"I really think you should see a doctor about that," he said. He pushed back the covers, and inspected the area for himself. "Why do you think your rash is gray looking?" he asked, fingering the small raised bumps on her skin. They were dark grayish in color, and had spread from between her legs all the way down to her knees.
"I don't know," she confessed. "Maybe it's just..." trailing off, Erik looked up to see her staring at her hand in wonder. "I'm getting it on my hands now," she said lightly.
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It was true. Within a week, the rash had spread on the backs of her hands and was beginning to creep up her arms, much to her irritation. While she was outside the apartment she had to wear long gloves, to avoid any odd looks. Erik hadn't had sex with her during that time, and she was worried he was shirking away from intimacy because of the rash. Slightly depressed, she spoke little and ate even less. Whether Erik noticed or not, he decided to not say anything, making her even more depressed. A few days later at work, however, he surprised her.
"Raven, you have a phone call," her manager called over, an irritated look crossing her face. It said plainly 'You know you shouldn't use the store's phone line for personal calls, make it quick and get back to work.' She sighed, stepping down from the stool where she had been stocking various sinus medications.
"Hello?" She knew it was Erik, she didn't know anyone else who might possibly knew she worked there.
"My dear, I hope you don't mind, but I've taken the liberty of buying a few 'supplies' for tonight, so maybe we can get on with the plan we talked about before?"
Her eyes widened. They'd talked about planning a special romantic evening for sex, but it had been awhile ago, and she'd thought he'd forgotten all about it. "You really want to go through with it?"
His laugh was loud on the other end. "Of course I do! I've been waiting for the right opportunity, to 'strike' at the right time, per say...but do you think we'll need to take extra precautions?" He meant condoms, as she could just buy them in the store before she left work.
"No, I think we'll be fine with the supplies we have," she said, wishing he could see the grin on her face.
"Alright, I'll get ready for when you come home, so make sure you hurry." He chuckled. She promised she would, and hung up, the smile still on her face as she went back to stocking the shelves.
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"Holy shit." Storm was listening to the recording of the conversation between Magneto and Mystique. Her mouth was wide open, listening to the conversation played over and over by an annoyed looking Gizmo; he'd pressed the play button quite a few times already. "This is big," she said quietly.
Pulling out her cell phone, she dialed the number for the phone she'd given Wolverine, and spoke hurriedly into it, explaining everything she'd just heard in the conversation between Magneto and Mystique.
"I need you to bring the both of them in now, before they have a chance to do anything. And be careful." He grunted on the other end of the line, and hung up. Good, at least now she knew Logan would get them and intercept on any plot they might have had, doing who knows how much damage and mischief.
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"What the fuck?!" Mystique had been in a cheerful mood until a milisecond ago, where she walked in to her apartment, door wide open, and belongings strewn around. "Erik?" She called, walking further into the apartment. When no one answered, she panicked, looking around. Did the FBI come for Erik? Or was it someone else, realizing they'd found where the fugitive Magneto had been hiding?
She heard a movement in the bedroom, and, tiptoeing, went up by the door frame, ready to hit the intruder as soon as he exited the bedroom. Large feet walked solidly across the room, and she prepared to strike, until he walked through the door frame.
"Wolverine?!" She dropped her fists, shocked.
Seeing her, she grabbed her by the arms and pushed her against the wall. "Stay quiet and don't struggle," he said gruffly.
"Where's Erik?" She said, panic in her voice.
"I'm here," he called, walking out of the bedroom, being pushed rather rudely by the boy she recognized as Bobby Drake. His lip was bleeding sluggishly.
"What's this all about?" She demanded, struggling against Logan's hold on her.
"Look, I'm just doing what I was told, okay? The two of you are supposed to be brought in," he said, reinforcing the pressure he put on her against the wall.
"But why?" She asked angrily. "We haven't done anything worthy of punishment from the oh so holy X-Men, so why do we need to be 'brought in' like a pair of animals?"
He said nothing, but instead pulled her away from the wall, trying to take her in the direction of the car.
"How long are we to be there?" She demanded.
"As long as we say so," he growled. "So probably awhile."
"So can we at least get some clothes?"
He let them pack, reluctantly. He stood guard over Mystique while she packed her things, Bobby guarding Erik. A sense of dread was slowly overpowering her. Erik took his bag, which contained all of his meager belongings, and she a small duffel that had clothes and other necessities. She had a feeling that they wouldn't return, and left a note on the landlord's door saying she would be gone for over a week, and left the payment for next month inside the envelope.
Getting into the small car, Mystique silently said goodbye to their apartment, having a feeling that they would never return, or be the same.
A/N: So sorry for the long wait! I hope you all liked it, as it's a very eventful chapter! It took awhile to write, it was so chock full of details. Sorry!