As soon as Charles reached out to K with cerebro, she excused herself from the conversation she was holding with Tony and Carol to look for somewhere that she could more fully focus on what the man had to say. It's awfully busy right now, K projected, eyes closed as she settled in to a quiet corner that left her tucked out of sight. What's wrong?
K could almost feel the mental sigh Charles had as he replied. Nothing's wrong yet, per se. Not here.
You're expecting trouble though, K replied. Try to relax. Logan was working on bolstering up his teammates here that plan to teach. I think it might be nerves with some of them. They're used to older teenagers, but no one under 17 or 18.
I somehow doubt that Captain Rogers has that much trouble with little ones.
You'd think it wouldn't be a problem with his usual partners, K teased. But don't worry. When I left the room, Logan was making sure to pass the buck your way for any advice on coaching personal control of mutations.
For a moment, it was clear Charles was weighing things out. Is that your way of telling me that this is simply an old war buddies discussion?
Aside from the really crappy play to see if I can run with their team? Yeah. I think that's what it is. I don't know what's going on with Steve, but he's not his usual fully confident self. If it's not nerves over playing teacher, I don't know what it is. K peeked around the corner to see how alone she was still. Between us, I think he's bitten off more than he can chew. All of them have. The Avengers are kind of spoiled in that all they've been doing since their inception is waiting for a crisis big enough for their egos to get them off their asses.
Charles smiled to himself on hearing her outlook. As always, K cut right to the heart of it. And they're starting to realize how much is at stake, is what you're alluding to.
I hope that's what's going on, K agreed. And I hope that they don't rope Logan into helping them more than he's already stretched himself.
And what about you? Charles asked. Have they roped you, too?
K thought about it for a long moment. The only way I'll join up at this point is if they've got Logan deeper than I think. I don't trust that they aren't still trying to schmooze him off of the X-Men and go Avengers full time.
So you plan to join to keep that from being the case?
I plan to join so I can point out to him what's going on if he's overstretched. And then bring him home. K shook her head. Or ... I'll join if I think that it's a smart thing to see how their school is running without rose-colored war buddy glasses ... well. I might be persuaded. Or let Tony think he persuaded me. Either way, it ain't gonna be an easy sell for them. They need to work for it either way. The soft sound of footfalls on the carpet down the hall drew K's attention. We can talk later, Charles. I don't have enough information for you yet. It's been very ... chummy.
She got to her feet as Charles agreed and took a second to steal a peek to see who it was that was looking for her - and was surprised only when she saw that it was Steve and that he was wearing a concerned sort of frown. "Alright. What did Tony say to get you ducking out on everyone?" Steve asked as he came to a stop not five steps from her - smiling easily at his own joke ... that she suspected wasn't entirely a joke. It was, however the first time all day Steve had seemed more like himself. Almost as if he too, needed to get a break from Tony.
"I just needed a little space from the full court press," K replied, matching his smile.
"He's not pushing for bodyguard again, is he?"
"No. He's pushing for me to join up. Switch badges -"
"Or at least wear theirs and ours on each hip with something with less fabric," Steve finished with a laugh.
"Yeah, that sounds more like him," K agreed, walking toward Steve as he tipped his head for her to follow him back to the group.
"The next time you two come back, you really should bring the kids," Steve said as they started slowly down the hall. "I haven't seen them in ... well. I think Abbey was still trying to get her brother to let her 'fix' his hair."
"The Kindergarten hair salon is a regular occurance for James and Michael. Rachel's in on it now too, and Rose ... she won't let the big kids do anything but braid." She let out a breath. "And, well, If you want to see the kids, it wouldn't kill you to go to Westchester. The road goes both ways," K pointed out.
"It does," Steve agreed, then the two of them fell into companionable silence for a few moments. He drew in a breath and held it before he stopped walking and turned her way. "I know you have your reasons to be wary of us, K. But I don't want to screw this up. We really do need someone to make sure we don't miss something important."
"You know you can talk to Charles or Scott any time for that," K pointed out as Steve subtly blocked her from moving further toward the group. "In fact, I would advise it since that's really their jam. They've done it before, they know how to get things underway."
"I'm not sure if you noticed," Steve said with a self conscious looking smile. "But with all the aggression surrounding the two teams, it's hard to get a chance to sit down with either of them."
"That won't get any better if Logan is here all the time," K pointed out. "There's something called a balance in play over there. And my husband figures into it pretty prominently more often than not. Even if he doesn't admit it."
"He does the same here," Steve said. "Believe it or not. He sure doesn't."
"Steve-"
"I tell you what," he said, holding up one hand. "I'll back off if you can join up -short term - to help ease up on the missions we're dealing with." Her body language made it clear that she didn't like his angle, though he soldiered on. "We really do need the consult, K. We're so close to getting things moving, and I need solid operatives in the field if I have to pull out heavy hitters to figure out training schedules."
"I thought you were already overtaxed on training schedules."
Steve tipped his head. "Maybe I'm hoping that they'll get a reality check if you help ease them into a scenario that your team deals with that ours doesn't. It might be good for them to see the kinds of threats our students may be facing, after all."
But that seemed to be the right kind of bait to catch K's attention, even if she didn't outwardly show it.
"It's no secret that if it's not Hydra or AIM, we really don't get many open threats," Steve said. "And I'll be honest - that was the best showing from Tony that I've ever seen."
She tried to look past him, but it was clear that he wasn't going to give her an easy out until she gave him an answer. "How did I go from just another X-Man to 'help train us'?"
"Ah, if you remember, you're the one that hasn't wanted to even discuss anything like membership," Steve pointed out. "We've offered before, but this is the first time that I've made it clear that we could really use your help. And it'll make the whole planning phase move faster if you and the kids are here part time. And the kids will be good for the team to be around too ... ease them into it."
"Our kids are tiny, Steve. You'll be picking up teenagers."
"Yeah, but Jan is dying on the vine waiting for one of her own," he pointed out, finally stepping out of the way just as Jan was ranting and raving about the pictures on Logan's phone of James and Rachel. Just then, Logan turned his head toward them with a smile caught on his features. He locked gazes with K and gave her a little wink before breaking into one of his very best grins, though that really only had K missing the expression Steve was wearing. Just like earlier, he was throwing her off her game. Hard.
"I ... " K started to say, losing her train of thought partway through. "... there are other things in play," she said finally, frowning to herself for the little mental slip. But she couldn't focus on her own moment of distraction. "He teaches in Westchester. So do I. And I know for a fact that Scott and Charles are in planning mode for the school year- rotations, classes, extra curricular schedules-"
"Perfect. Then it's the right time to coordinate with everyone," Steve replied as Tony stepped up looking troubled.
K blinked out of her distraction to focus on Steve more properly. "But Logan can't play intermediary for that. You need to coordinate with Scott and Charles."
Steve was smiling crookedly, obviously ready to say something in response when Tony cut him off.
"Funny thing just happened," Tony said, narrowing his eyes at K for an instant. "The recording from our little session is MIA."
"I haven't been near your booth, Mr. Stark," K said, smiling at him and falling into an easy tease like she usually did, though she was telling the truth. She hadn't been anywhere near the booth -unsupervised anyhow.
"You disappeared for a while," Tony pointed out. "Steve had to go looking."
"I didn't erase anything," K promised as she looked between the two of them. Something was off, she just couldn't place it. Tony's thinly veiled accusation was normal enough but Steve wasn't using his usual stern expression when faced with a security issue. And this seemed like something he would be concerned with considering how long he'd been after her for anything close to what the earlier session had been for an evaluation.
"I think that's Tony's way of saying he wants a round two," Steve teased. "Or a chance to utterly fail at an X-Men level program."
Tony scoffed as K's head tipped slightly and she focused a little harder on Steve. "Only if she's going to be my partner," Tony said with a grin.
Steve crossed his arms. "Nope. Can't happen unless she joins," Steve said - and both of them turned toward K with their own hopeful looks.
"Oh come on," K said, letting her shoulders drop. "You can't come at me with the big ... long eyelashes ... and you ... you're only missing your star-spangled panties."
Tony grinned crookedly and offered her his arm, which she took after a moment. "If we're going full recruit mode, I should step in and tell you about the benefits that come with being an Avenger. Even if you're just moonlighting."
"You wish I was moonlighting."
"I do. I really, really do," Tony agreed - which got a low laugh from K.
"I still don't want anything to do with one on one time, Mr. Stark."
"Oh sure. The lady doth protest too much," Tony shot back with a grin. "Though I didn't expect my eyelashes to be at the forefront of my many many selling points."
"Are you admitting that you're whoring yourself for membership?" K challenged.
"Would it work?" Tony laughed before he started his selling routine with Steve watching them leave with a little glint in his eyes.
Abbey was the first to greet her parents when they came in - both of them a bit worse for wear from how the day had gone. Long hours of drills and sims, enough that they both had a chance to pair up with several different Avengers just to see how things would roll with both of them in the mix.
"How were things at the tower?" Jean asked, doing her best not to sound too anxious about what the answer might be.
"Shocking noone, you guys adjusted to me much faster," K answered as Logan chuckled to himself with Abbey hanging off of his arm.
"She ain't wrong," Logan said with a laugh as Abbey giggled, though she tried to hide it.
"So ..." Jean said, pausing as she tried to slow her panic. "You're joining their team now too?"
"That ... is still up for debate," K replied.
"She's got an ID. It's not," Logan said with a hollow laugh.
"I'm not joining them unless I'm taking over," K said as Rose and James made their way over with Rachel hot on their heels - all three of them intent on tackling her.
"Still a yes," Logan argued. "You'll have Cap bringin' you coffee by the end of the week."
"Of course I will," K laughed. "It's part of the contract. If I sign on."
"Why am I not surprised?" Logan teased as he leaned over and stole a kiss. Rachel bounced from K to Logan an as soon as she shouted 'up' at him, he reached down with his free hand for her. She grabbed on to his wrist tightly and he picked her up, letting her dangle just long enough to curl his arm and pull her in for a hug that she couldn't escape from. She was giggling uproariously as he and Abbey tickled her until she was asking them to 'top top!'
As soon as they stopped, Rachel pushed the long wispy red hair out of her face and grinned at Logan. "Hi," Rachel said, then leaned over to give him a sloppy baby kiss on the cheek.
"Hi," Logan answered, returning the favor by kissing her quickly, then growling as he acted like he was going to bite her neck - rewarded with more giggles before Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck and melted into his shoulder. Finally, Logan turned toward Jean. "I got a better idea of what Cap's asking for while K kept the hunyacks at bay."
"Oh?" Jean asked, relaxing slightly since Logan was the one to bring it up - and he didn't make her or Scott ask about it.
"And I think you can relax. We'll have things wrapped up before you're halfway through. It'll take some work now, but by the time Stark has the building ready-"
"Which is on a fast track," K interjected.
Logan nodded "-we'll be able to step back. I'm not trainin' for them. They wanted me to do what Slim an' Charlie do and I told 'em I wasn't up for it. Don't be surprised if Cap comes by to chat with Charlie. I'll do a lot for 'im, but I'm not gonna pretend like I know how to handle anything outside of the worst cases."
"Logan, you do more than that," Jean said, though she was glad to hear that Logan was holding a line with Steve, at least. "You're great with more than the worst cases."
Logan gave her a dry look as Rachel finally let go of his neck. "That's who I get assigned to, and you know it. And since that's the kind of kids I handle, that's what I know. And we can be damn sure they ain't gonna bother messin' with kids in that kind of trouble."
Jean couldn't help the laugh that slipped out at that. This was why she liked when K went with him to the tower. He still helped them like he wanted to, but he didn't get railroaded into more than he wanted to do. She still wasn't sure though if it was because he was distracted with her or if she kept them on their toes with her refusal to cooperate. Either way - it worked, and as inconvenient as it was for both of them to be at the tower when Scott and Jean were stressed out about the beginning of their pregnancy, it was still less stressful (to Jean) to know that Logan wasn't getting directed as easily.
"Scott's finishing up the preliminary schedules with Charles," Jean said. "If you want to wait a little while, I'm sure he'd like to hear how things went."
"I'm pretty beat, Jeannie," Logan replied with a grin, then pulled his wife closer once Rachel had let him go. "Got after Cap to reach out to coordinate though. If he hasn't called by tomorrow, I'll get James to help me make 'im." He turned to James, who was balancing on his tip toes to avoid stepping on the cracks in the wood flooring. "Right, kiddo?"
"Right!" James agreed, landing with a stomp on a four-way crack.
"Catch ya later, Jeannie," Logan said as the five of them headed down toward their suite leaving Jean both relieved and concerned since it sounded a lot like Logan was taking the whole family with him tomorrow.
She had just gotten to the kitchen to pour herself a cup of tea - a fact that had her smiling to herself as she started cutting out the caffeine as soon as she found out she had a little one on the way - when the anxious background noise of Scott's mind seemed to pick up a little bit. The two of them were always in each other's minds, always listening, always paying attention to what the other had to contend with - and they were always watching out for one another. So when Scott had sensed that Jean was done chatting with the Howlett family, he couldn't stop himself from testing the waters and reaching out to her to wordlessly check in. It wasn't much - just a little concentration on his end of their psychic bond was all it took for Jean to be aware that he was asking. And before she could think to try and temper her reaction, he caught the tone of her thoughts.
He's leaving then, Scott surmised. His mental voice made it perfectly clear that he was fully expecting it, too.
No, Jean projected back to him. He said he tried to pass the buck to you on planning ... and that if you don't get a phone call by the time he gets there -
Tomorrow.
Yes, tomorrow. If you don't get a phone call, he'll make it happen.
Right.
Jean sighed. She felt awful that the two of them weren't seeing eye to eye again. She figured she'd been getting spoiled with how well things had gone for so long ... it really had seemed like all of the strife between Logan and Scott was behind them. Until moments like this popped up. Give him a chance, sweetheart, Jean said. He has a hard time turning Captain Rogers down. And you would too.
Jean, this isn't ... Scott's mental voice sounded just as tired as Logan did wen he was talking about the plans for the Avengers Academy. It's not the same for me.
No. Of course not. For you, he's Captain America - a childhood hero. For him ... he's an old friend. Yes. It's different, but I'm sure if he asked you to do something, you'd bend over backwards to not let him down.
I guess we'll never know, Scott said. Because there's no way in hell I'm getting a phone call from Captain America.
"Scott," Jean said to herself in a sigh before she projected to him. You don't know that. He'll call.
Yeah. or Logan will make him. That's the kind of open outreach we've been shooting for. He blew out a breath that was enough to interrupt the ongoing discussion he was having with Charles. "I'm sorry, professor, I'm just a little distracted."
"As well you should be," Charles replied with a warm smile. "Go. Be distracted. We can't proceed much further until we can talk to Logan and K and be sure of which extracurriculars they plan to continue offering."
"Which is bound to be a short list if they're both going to be running around being Avengers."
Charles wanted to argue the point, but he knew there was no way that Scott would relax until he had a clear response from the Avengers on what they needed from his team to get their act together. "I'll let you know if I hear from them, Scott. But for now, I'm quite sure Jean and Rachel can use your attention."
Scott smirked to himself almost belatedly as if it took a moment for the blessings he actually had already in front of him already to sink in again. "Yeah. I promised Rachel I'd bring her some ice cream." He smiled more crookedly at that. "And I'll catch Logan in the morning."
"You missed him this morning," Charles pointed out. "And as I recall, that was the plan today as well."
"Yeah, but i'm stealing his keys tonight," Scott said as he got to his feet, wearing that same crooked smile. "Hers too."
Charles laughed quietly as he watched Scott go. It had been far too long since Scott had gotten into a little trouble making - and if Logan and K thought they were going to slip out before Scott had said his piece, they were obviously mistaken. And that had Charles relaxing as well. Obviously Scott had a plan in place - he just needed to get onto the first step before he could enact it. And obviously, he was tired of waiting for things to fall into place.