Anger is Cool; Come to the Dark Side.

[prefers_magneto]

[Continued from here]

When Storm arrived, she would find Erik sitting at one of the outdoor tables, his back to the wall so he had a view of the street. A sunny afternoon made the sunglasses and fedora not seem suspicious to the average passerby, but he did also have the good sense not to advertise his face in public.

He looked up when she approached, gestured to the chair across from him, giving it just enough of a nudge with his power to push it out for her slightly.

"I was certain you'd change your mind."

Comments

[nimbi]

He looked well, and in spite of everything that fact made her smile a little as she walked over to accept the glass.

"Show-off."

[prefers_magneto]

"Some things never change," Erik noted lightly, pouring himself a glass as well. He looked over at Ororo. "You look lovely. That never seems to change, either."

[nimbi]

"You're biased."

Though in all honesty she'd been rather convinced that that was no longer the case.

[prefers_magneto]

"Maybe. But that doesn't make it untrue." He stepped over to clink his glass softly against hers. "To old friends," he murmured, throwing his drink back.

[nimbi]

"To old friends."

Ororo just sipped her drink, giving Erik another once-over with her eyes.

"You look like you're doing well."

[prefers_magneto]

He huffed a self-conscious laugh; looking down at himself briefly then looking at her.

"Do I? I live off the grid now. Fresh air. Manual labour. Looking after mutants that have nowhere to go."

[nimbi]

"Seems like it suits you."

Perhaps for Erik the only solution that could allow him a modicum of happiness was to leave as much of the world behind as he could.

Ororo could understand that, honestly.

[prefers_magneto]

He huffed a self-conscious laugh.

"Well. I would concede that not watching the news and living where there aren't any humans does generally keep me out of trouble."

He gestured with his glass towards the outside world. "How are things going at the school?"

[nimbi]

Ororo smiled at that, wider than she wanted to.

"That's what I was thinking, more or less. We're doing well at the institute. The children are a gift, as always."

[prefers_magneto]

Her smile made his features soften.

"I've had a few come to me from the school, but not because they didn't like it there. They had difficulties with the other children or they had issues at home."

[nimbi]

"I'm happy to know they're somewhere safe. I worry."

Every child that leaves them leaves a hole in her heart behind. Not because she feels slighted in any way, but because not always knowing what happens to them eats her up inside.

[prefers_magneto]

He considered her a moment.

"Would.... would you like me to send you a message when one joins us?"

[nimbi]

"It would mean a lot to me if you did."

After a moment of hesitation, she reached out to give his arm a gentle squeeze.

"I won't try to talk them into coming back."

[prefers_magneto]

"I wasn't worried about that. Your school and my community.... they're not diverging paths. Perhaps we can work together. Eventually, people in Genosha will have children. And eventually, children will leave your program with nowhere to go. Or, at least... nowhere in human society that they want to go. Integration is more difficult for some mutants than others."

[nimbi]

"You're sounding far too reasonable to be the real Erik, you must be an impostor."

[prefers_magneto]

He couldn't help a surprised bark of laughter. "Oh, come now. There are plenty of way to interpret that as nefarious. Perhaps I'm recruiting an army to take over the world." He wiggled his fingers at her. "Send me your children...." he teased.

[nimbi]

Ororo snorted, gently batting his fingers aside.

"Well, if you insist I can absolutely view you in the worst light possible if that's what you want."

[prefers_magneto]

"Well.... I didn't say that was what I wanted...." He watched her for a moment. "You never did, though. Even at my worst."

[nimbi]

"Why would I? You were clearly in pain, and had every right to be furious."

It's not as if she herself had never leaned on rage to handle pain.

[prefers_magneto]

He nodded, looking down into his glass for a moment.

"I still am," he admitted. "In pain and furious. It never ends, the way they take from us. But... I suppose somewhere along the way I learned that building something to support our people is a better balm then destroying things that support theirs." He looked at her. "Charles taught me that. And you taught me that."

[nimbi]

She knocked back the rest of her drink, put the glass down by the bottle, and wrapped her arms around Erik's waist to hold him.

"I'm happy for you."

[prefers_magneto]

The contact was a relief and he set his glass down to slide his arms around her and revel in the solid warmth of her for a moment.

"Do you want to see it some time?" he asked. "My island?"

[nimbi]

She relaxed against him, at last allowing herself to really feel how much she'd missed him.

"I'd like that."

[prefers_magneto]

"The town is all... built out of shipping debris from the floor of the ocean," he told her. "It's very... motley looking."

He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, hesitantly, in case she objected.

"Maybe we can work out a program for the kids to come learn about living in an off grid community. Like a field trip."

[nimbi]

"Maybe."

It wasn't a bad idea, but she didn't want to make any promises. Who could say what her fellow X-Men would think about showing off Magneto's island refuge to a bunch of impressionable children.

She rested a hand against his cheek, and stroked his lower lip with her thumb.

"Didn't think you still wanted... this."