K took a deep breath as she lifted her hand to knock on the door leading to the attic of the Xavier mansion. She had never spoken more than a few sentences with Storm, but she knew well enough that the woman was inspirational. And she thought she could work with her. To add to it, Ororo had been championing women's causes with the teen girls that stayed and learned at the Institute. She hoped that Ororo would be willing to help her too – or at least be a sympathetic ear as she spilled her guts.
The stunning dark skinned goddess answered the door with a smile that fell completely when her eyes rested on the tiny, gaunt woman before her. "K! You look ill! Please, come, sit!" Ororo exclaimed as she dragged her to a chair. "I know that I haven't seen you lately, not with all the decorating and preparations for the holidays, but ... I don't... How did this happen? What's wrong?" she asked her. It was clear that Ororo felt a bit guilty for not having checked on her earlier, even it K was not someone that she should have needed to check on. She, like most of the staff had just assumed Logan had it covered. They didn't know that she'd shut him out too.
"I need - " K started to say, trying to phrase the words properly. "I'm told that I need a friend, and I don't want a telepath pushing ahead of me right now, unless I ask for it."
Storm tipped her head, completely understanding K's reasoning, as she urged her to continue.
"Charles told me I need to talk to someone, but I can't talk to him or Logan. A man wouldn't – couldn't – understand. And Jean ... is out for the same reason as Charles." Storm closed her eyes with a sigh. She had hoped this wasn't going where she thought it was.
Although K didn't know it, when she was younger, Ororo had made the mistake of catching a ride with a stranger who nearly raped her. It was in her panic as she struggled against the man to get away that she managed to accidentally kill him. It scarred her mentally and made her very reluctant to take another life, but it also caused her to have a lifelong aversion to strangers.
Particularly men she didn't know well. She reached out and covered K's hand with hers, trying to reassure her, but not entirely sure how to go about it. "What happened?" she asked in a soothing tone, concern etched on her features. "Was it at the facility?"
K nodded once with a totally unreadable expression, her gaze on the ground as she swallowed and slowly began her story. It was a rough start ... and at first, she didn't understand all that she was saying ... but by the time she was done, Ororo was horrified, not only for K and the damage it had done to her, but also for Logan. She knew it must have been the worst kind of torture for him to be unable to help someone he cared for.
The two women talked for hours, sharing experiences and getting it all off of their chests. When it was over, both women were worn out, and amazingly, K felt a little better. She even decided to take Ororo's advice to ask Jean to put her into a dreamless sleep.
In truth, she didn't even know the redhead could do such a thing, though by the time Ororo finished telling her the details on how it was one of Jean's favorite tricks, she was well and truly convinced. When their time together came close to ending, Ororo noted that K looked a bit more nervous. She guessed at what had her concerned and she promised to keep the details of K's story to herself, though she also promised to check on her.
The smaller woman let out a sigh of relief. She didn't want the looks of pity that were bound to come when the group as a whole knew for a fact what had happened.
On seeing that the load on K's shoulders had started to lighten, Ororo scooted closer and gave her a tight hug. "You are welcome any time, day or night - and if it would help, my door is open if you don't want to be alone at night. I too, know how the shadows can hold too much evil."
K couldn't help but smile. Ororo's genuine kindness was a gift from the heavens, but she wasn't going to take her up on a slumber party just yet. Eventually, K bid her goodnight and slowly made her way to see Jean, slightly more anxious with each step.
It was still too early in the evening for many of the adults to be in bed and Jean was no exception. K could hear her laughter dancing up the stairs, so she followed it to find her joking with Scott and Rogue.
However, when Jean saw K, her laughter stopped and her entire demeanor shifted. "Why haven't you come to see me sooner?" Jean asked before K could get around to saying so much as a hello.
"That," K replied, gesturing with one hand. "Is why. You get ahead of me before I can say a word."
Scott was frowning at her explanation, but didn't argue it. No doubt that was his experience as well. Jean however, looked as though she was embarrassed by the point that K had made.
"I don't mean to," Jean defended softly, her expression shifting from outrage to sheepish regret. "And I didn't really look far ... I just .. you're so thin." It seemed as though K had done a fairly exceptional job hiding herself away those past few weeks. Jean reacted almost exactly as Storm did at first, even if her reactions were a bit more obvious. She silently watched her as she slowly made her way into the kitchen. She was making a conscious effort to keep from peeking into her mind now that she realized she was doing it again.
K finally made it closer to the group, though she was leaning on the counters for balance. Scott and Rogue were staring at her when she finally came to a stop near by. They were both shocked at how much tinier the little woman looked from just a few weeks prior. Seeing the concern on all of them, K didn't waste her time. She cleared her throat to warn them she was going to speak, but she could barely get the words out as she explained herself to Jean.
"Of course I'll help you sleep, but my God – are you even healing?" Jean asked in a very motherly tone as K clutched her stomach when a wave of nausea hit her hard. K shrugged in response, unable to answer the question as she hadn't really been injured since their return, so in her mind, she had no way of really knowing.
Jean delicately picked up K's hand and after a quick inspection. "Did you paint your nails?" Jean asked, staring at the slightly silvery blue-gray color that seemed like a wash over them.
K wrinkled her brow and shook her head. She hadn't noticed any color, and she'd be the last person in the world to purposely paint her nails for her own entertainment. Though it set her to wondering what exactly that meant while she inspected the odd coloring herself.
Jean stepped forward and placed her hands on K's head as she tipped her face up to look the smaller woman in the eyes. She had dropped all pretense of politeness when she realized how bad off K really was. "When was the last time you ate anything?" Jean asked. The urgency in her voice was plain for K to hear though the redhead probably thought she'd hidden it well.
K didn't answer the question, though she did step out of Jean's grasp. It wasn't that she was being difficult – she just couldn't remember. It didn't trouble her too badly though seeing as she could hardly remember how she'd gotten to the kitchen.
Jean looked displeased with her lack of response and shifted quite quickly to more concerned. "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to see Hank. I know you don't like it down there, but you can't heal if you don't eat," Jean told her in an authoritative tone, heat clear to hear in her voice.
"I haven't been hurt since we left that place," K defend. "How the hell am I supposed to know if I'm healing?" K's frustration and anxiety came quickly, a side effect of the PTSD, and she suspected, a product of people treating her as if she were a child due to her short and slight stature.
"It's the adamantium, K," Jean said, truly irritated now, though the little feral couldn't know it wasn't really directed at her. "You have around Eighty pounds of it you're carting around now. It's toxic. You've broken down your healing factor by not taking care of yourself." She let out a frustrated sigh and shook her head. "You've got heavy metal toxicity." She turned toward Scott to help her get K down to Hank when suddenly, K put her hands up towards him.
"Don't you dare touch me," K half growled out to Scott as Logan walked in.
Logan quickly assessed the scene then he turned toward Jean as he glanced between she and her husband. "What's going on, Jeannie?" Logan asked cautiously, not sure of how to approach the situation without knowing all that had just transpired.
With a heavy sigh, Jean rubbed her temples. "Her healing factor is shot. And she's got adamantium poisoning. All of it because she's not eating anything," Jean said quickly. "I was telling Scott to take her down to Hank for treatment."
Logan looked to K, who at the moment looked torn between wanting to tear Scott a new one for what Jean thought was simply trying to help, and pure anxiety. Logan knew she didn't want to hurt Scott though. Not unless he tried to force her, which it was clear Scott wasn't prepared to do. Yet. But Logan knew that with all the things that had recently transpired, K was simply terrified at the promise of spending time in a lab. Even here, most of her lab time had been spent with her being restrained. He looked toward Jean knowing full well that she didn't fully grasp what the problem was. To them, their lab was nothing like the labs he and K had spent time in. And while she was right ... she was also very wrong.
"Wouldn't it be smarter to get Hank up here – OUT of the lab?" Logan asked as he looked at Jean meaningfully. For a split second she stared back at Logan like he was totally nuts, but when he projected to her his viewpoint of the tank she was in complete with her screaming, and his own experience, she paled, understood immediately and went to retrieve Henry herself.
Logan gently guided K over to the table to sit down, knowing full well when he looked at her that Jean was totally right. She needed to go to the lab. He didn't understand how well she'd been able to hide it in Charles' study. And how to get her to Henry's without triggering another trauma was not an easy task while her wounds were still fresh and vivid in her mind.
Scott handed her a mug of tea, trying to make amends, but it was clear the little feral was triggered simply at the threat of a lab. Logan watched carefully as K picked the mug up and cautiously sniffed it before she slowly raised it to her lips, only to abandon it quickly when her stomach clenched up on her. This ... this was not good.
Celia and Hank walked in a few minutes later without their lab coats on. Jean had wisely asked them to take all precautions to avoid upsetting her. They sat down near her at the table, and Hank gently took her hand in his. He examined her very much the same as Jean had done. His touch was feather light as he looked at her eyes and gave a quick general exam, though he came to the same conclusion after he asked a few additional questions before giving her his prognosis.
"There are two ways to approach this," Hank said gently, with his hand resting on hers. "You won't like either option though, I'm afraid. Option one is that Celia hands me the injection I have in my bag that will counteract the adamantium poisoning. If we do this, you must immediately start getting some food into your system," he said firmly as he weighed her reaction. K squirmed in her chair at the thought of a shot of any kind.
"Option two would be that you come down to the lab ..." she pulled her hand from his and clenched it into a fist as she drew it to her chest. He didn't try to take her hand back or pause in the slightest as he finished telling her what was to come. "... and we put you on a dialysis machine to remove the level of toxins in your blood. If we do this, we'll have to start a feeding tube to give you the nutrients your body so desperately needs."
She looked at him as if he'd suggested she light herself on fire.
"Of course, the second option is one we will be forced to pursue if your condition continues to deteriorate. The key will be discerning what the cause of the toxicity is," Celia added.
"You're kidding, right? You know what the cause is," K snapped, bitterness in her tone easy enough to hear.
Hank shook his head with a sigh. "Of course, she misspoke. The source is painfully clear. I'm sure Ms Reyes meant to say we need to be sure of the reason your system is failing." K blinked in confusion as she glanced between the two of them. "You haven't eaten properly in weeks, correct?" Hank asked, to which K reluctantly nodded.
"You didn't have much time since your skeleton was bonded, so we need to find out if the failure to return to your usual level of regeneration is from the procedure they forced on you failing at a molecular level or if it's from your high level of blatant self neglect." His kind tone now gone, K truly felt her self hatred scale go up a few notches as she struggled to keep her composure.
And in spite of the fact that Henry was trying to help her, Logan kind of wanted to punch him in the face for not being a little more tactful.
However, the good cop bad cop routine had exactly the effect Henry had hoped for.
K nodded minutely and whispered "I'll take the shot." Logan put his arm around her shoulders as Celia prepared the proper dosage. K turned her head into his shoulder as Hank extended her arm. He asked her to make a fist, then wrapped his hand around it to push it back so she couldn't stab him with an accidental extraction of her claws while he administered the shot to her vein. The bleeding from the shot didn't stop immediately as it should have which had Hank frowning as he addressed it.
"I'm sorry, my dear, truly I am." Hank said sadly. "Get something in your system if you can. If you can't handle food, we'll have to resort to more aggressive measures. Otherwise, you'll need another shot tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll come to you."
He patted her shoulder as he stood, looking to Logan now. "Make sure she eats something, but start her light." Logan nodded and stroked her hair as she leaned on him, wiped out from the anxiety of the small medical intrusion.
Jean sat down across from her and waited for K to acknowledge her. "I'm sorry. I'm not usually that thoughtless. I should have considered everything before trying to send you to the lab, it was just ... I was worried." She paused to redirect herself as Scott stood behind her. "And of course ... of course I'd be more than happy to help you fall asleep tonight, tomorrow - and for as long as it takes for you to bounce back. In fact, if it makes life easier, I'm sure Scott won't mind if I kick him out for the night, and we can just watch movies in bed. Ororo would join us in a heartbeat."
K had to smirk. The sentiment was touching, but the look on Scott's face at the insinuation that she'd evict him for a slumberparty was priceless. "I don't think I could do that to your sweetheart," K told her. "But thank you. I'll probably be up in a little bit."
Jean gave her a soft smile as she got to her feet and Scott led her off with his arm around her shoulders. The two ferals watched them leave, quiet until the kitchen cleared out entirely.
"Trouble sleepin'?" Logan asked finally just before he tenderly kissed the top of her head.
"And the dark, alone," she quietly admitted. "For full disclosure. And I feel like an idiot being my age and afraid of the dark of all things." His arm slid a little lower and he pulled her closer, though he stopped short of pulling her onto his lap as he wanted to.
"You don't have to be alone, darlin',"he mumbled into her hair, but she shook her head in response.
He frowned at her and dipped his head down to look at her face. "Hey," he said, his finger under her chin before he tilted her head up. "You can talk to me too, you know." The want in his voice was clear. She bit her lip as she thought it over then finally decided to go ahead and try to open up to him too. She had felt better after talking to Storm and she hardly knew her. She knew Logan cared for her – or he'd at least said as much and certainly acted it well enough.
She opened her mouth, and shut it before she took a deep slow breath trying to find the right words. "I feel better with you but – God, I feel like a jackass." She sighed heavily. "I panic when I wake up with you in the dark. I don't know if it's the weight of your arm on me, or your breath on my neck ... but I panic. I'm sorry. I can't stop that yet," she explained quickly, nearly wincing as she finished as if she expected him to blow up at her.
But instead, he let out a sigh and gave her a little kiss. The corner of his mouth tightened as he thought out what to say. "Why don't you give it another shot – whenever you're ready. I'd like you to try tonight, but seein' as Red already offered you a slumber party, and if you're unsure about bein' alone with me -"
"I want to hold you when I fall asleep," she said quickly, cutting him off, then she paused, frowning to herself as she held her hand up between them. "That is ...I don't want you to spoon me, like we did, I want to hold you."
Logan looked stunned for a moment but agreed quickly. "Just ... not quite yet," he said as he stood up and started to pull things from the cabinet and refrigerator. She turned in her seat to watch him as he worked, her chin in the palm of her hand. In a matter of minutes, he had started to cook up something that smelled positively mouthwatering. She watched him with interest the whole time, not wanting to interrupt whatever he was working toward. Finally he brought her a plate and set it down in front of her before he urged her to try it.
She looked at his creation doubtfully. She never was a fan of eggs, and no man that had ever cooked for her could even begin to do a fair job of it ... but she did have furry blue doctor's orders to follow, so she pushed forward. A tiny bite into it, she found herself smiling at him. She loved it. She couldn't eat much, but he seemed satisfied that she'd had anything at all. In short order, they headed upstairs and K stopped by to talk to Jean before going to her room to change.
"Are you sure you're ready to try that?" Jean had asked, with concern in her voice.
"I ... trust him," K replied. "But ... if I can't make it through the night, then there's no reason for me to stay here." Jean took in a quick breath and started to shake her head. "I really had done alright on my own," K insisted before she wished Jean a good night and slipped down the hall before she could say anything.
K sat on her bed in her pajamas for nearly half an hour staring at her feet. Was she doing the right thing, trying so quickly? The raging doubt that had been ruling her brain backed down just a little when her inner voice nearly shouted What the hell are you waiting for?
"Damn conscience," K muttered as she steeled herself and decided to give it her best shot. She stood up and wavered before she caught a hold of the bedpost and looked at herself in the mirror. She scoffed at her reflection. Sunken eyes, sallow complexion. "Quit stalling and get to it," she chided herself before she finally left her room.
She stopped in front of Logan's door and raised her hand to knock, then thought better of it and just let herself in. He had said to just come in. When she stepped inside, Logan was, as she'd usually found him, shirtless in boxers, waiting for her in bed with his blankets thrown back.
"How d'you want to do this?" he asked, sliding down a bit more as she approached him. But she didn't say a word in response. Instead, she just crawled over him to the other side. She left one leg draped across his as she settled in next to him. She used his shoulder as a pillow and rested her hand over his heart. His pulse sped up as she snuggled into him and she smiled earnestly when she heard it. When she lifted her head slightly to steal a peek at him, he looked entierly unapologetic.
"Can't help it, darlin'. You just have that effect," he said with a smirk as he covered her hand with his. He kissed her forehead then pulled the blanket up over them. With a little wiggle, she slid up and kissed him before she wished him a goodnight. He smiled and put his free arm up over his head as he waited for her to either fall asleep or panic.
K yawned, and readjusted herself slightly as she let his scent fill her senses. His rich musk mixed with the scent of pines and tobacco made her relax at his side. For the first time since the incident, she honestly felt safe and before she knew it, she was asleep.
Logan wasn't entirely shocked that she passed out so quickly. He knew she was exhausted, and he tried to relax more himself as he listened to her breathe, slow and even. She was so worn that she didn't move but for a twitch of her fingers every now and again which only reminded him of seeing that same twitch as she floated in the tank just before –
No,he thought to himself, forcing the thought from his head. He didn't need to worry about that right now. It was done. It wasn't something that could be changed, and besides- she was safe with him. Asleep in his bed where he could hold her and watch over her.
He took a deep breath and tried to keep the image of her in the tank out of his head. A tiny moan escaped her lips and drew his attention to her. "Easy, darlin'. I gotcha," he rumbled quietly before she immediately relaxed again. She absently ran her fingers over his chest before drifting off more solidly. He smirked as he watched her sleep halfway on top of him. It was pretty clear to him how much she trusted him. She had to or she wouldn't be there. In spite of all that had happened to her, she gave him her full confidence. And he knew it. He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
He stayed up all night watching over her. He had to make sure she got the rest she so desperately needed. He was tired, but just having her there with him made him relax better too. He watched the sunrise, and enjoyed the feel of her against him, though he was finally starting to drift off himself when she finally began to wake up. He smirked sleepily as she stretched languidly next to him then slid up to kiss him good morning as he let his hands drift across her back.
"You didn't sleep at all last night did you?" she asked, her voice smoky with sleep as she propped herself up halfway over him.
He smirked and shook his head. "Wasn't that important to me," he replied, not ready to admit to her how much he enjoyed just holding her as she slept.
She sat up next to him and tried to show some restraint as she tucked a loose tendril of hair behind her ear. She took a deep breath and looked across the room to the clock on his dresser, noting that it was getting late. When she turned back to him, she caught him smiling serenely at her. "What?" she asked, totally oblivious.
But he tightened his mouth and shook his head. "You're something else in the morning sun. You just – glow," he said with one of his hands resting on her hip and the other entwined with hers. She frowned slightly, her nose scrunched up as she shook her head then decided to go ahead and follow her instincts. She met his gaze with a determined look on her face and grinned, but that just got him to smile wider.
In one smooth move she closed the distance to kiss him and as she ran her fingers through his hair. Shocked, he gently placed his hands on her hips as she deepened their kiss and pushed him into the pillows. When she finished he was ready for more.
"That's a nice little wake up call," he whispered as he slid his hand up the back of her shirt. She smiled genuinely at him.
"No kidding," she breathed out barely pulling back enough to focus on him properly. "Thank you. For watching over me last night. But, if this is going to work, then eventually, you'll need to sleep too," she told him with a smirk. "But ... I'll need a little more time for much more than that, stud," she said, a smile in her voice for the first time since they'd returned.
"I know. I'm waitin, darlin'. No pressure. Just gotta say the word," he replied with a growl, as she leaned in for another kiss.
"I want to, really, I do – so, so much ... just give me a little more time and let me get a little stronger. I wear down too easy right now." He took the hint and backed off as she sat back on her heels, smiling down at him.
"Alright then," he said, pulling himself upright. "Guess we better work on gettin' some food in you." She had to laugh at that. Of course he'd look at it as a chance to build her up.
Once they were downstairs, he made them both breakfast as she worked on a cup of coffee, half pulled into a ball as she watched everyone around her. Halfway through their meal, Hank made one of his rare appearances outside of his lab.
"Good to see you eating something, my dear," Hank said, as he watched her over his half moon spectacles. "Your color is already improving."
"Nah, it's just the morning sun, right, Logan?" she teased, which made Logan swallow wrong though he was smirking as he coughed. Hank simply shook his head, ignoring their private joke, though he kind of wished he knew what it was to make Logan lose his tightly controlled composure.
Logan wanted to glare at her, but ended up laughing instead as he leaned over and kissed her "You're a tease, you know that?" he accused. She didn't argue it as she shrugged openly.
"To be expected from time to time," she countered, though her focus was drawn by some unexpected movement just outside the doors.
Her smile fell as she watched Scott, who was walking around outside with a dark haired, well dressed man. Scott looked a little more uptight than usual and the dark haired man was animatedly shaking or nodding his head and gesturing grandly with his hands. It looked as if he was in agreement with whatever Scott said, though he occasionally pointed at something and made his own commentary.
"What's Scott doing?" K asked suddenly, focused on the two men. She may not have been there for long, but it seemed a little bit of a stretch in her mind for there to be too many visitors to the grounds.
"He's finally takin' my advice. Been after him for years to upgrade the damn security around here. We got all this high-tech alien crap that works fine for everyday weirdos and alien invasions when it's on, but we tend to draw high caliber earthly weirdos that are into stealth tech. Or ... maybe it's just me that draws them in," Logan replied, watching them just as intently as she was as he sat down next to her with fresh coffee. "The jackass with him is Tony Stark. Have to admit, the man has a way with weaponry."
K watched them a moment, her chin resting in her hand. She narrowed her eyes when she caught Stark's eye and he smiled at her.
Logan saw her reaction and laughed. "You don't have to listen to me, sweetheart. Him and I have had a few disagreements," he informed her with a smirk.
But she shook her head minutely and rested her hand on his knee. "No, it's not that. I don't like his look. He's got that 'thinks he knows everything' look to him. Smug. Makes me want to hit him with a brick," she said easily as Logan took her hand and chuckled.
"Darlin', keep talking like that and I'm going to have to marry you," he teased before he kissed her palm and stood to leave.
She rolled her eyes at him and stared at her coffee, enjoying the warmth in her hands and the rich scent of it as Logan walked away from her to get to his early class.
Before too long, Scott and Stark came inside and a cold wind followed them, making her shiver as they stepped into the kitchen. Stark was watching K intently as Scott set out a cup of coffee for him.
"OK, I know everyone here. But ... I don't know her. I'd have remembered her," Stark said to Scott. He hadn't taken his eyes off of her, even as she finally looked up at him and met his gaze. "Introduce me, Cyclops," Stark said with a roguish smile as he put on his best charm for her.
Scott raised an eyebrow and frowned as Stark cut a path right to K and boldly took Logan's vacated seat. "If you insist," Scott said under his breath before raising his voice to a more normal speaking level. "Tony, this is K. She's with Logan." Scott said before he took a sip of coffee and gave K a little smile.
K glanced at him with a grateful look. She'd caught the tension between Logan and Scott easily, so Scott standing up for him was unexpected ... but still very appreciated.
Tonys' eyebrows flew up and his expression was one of disbelief. "Logan? Our Logan? No. No, that's just not possible. He doesn't even date does he?" Tony rattled off, K's brow wrinkled at the ridiculous assumption. Tony readjusted himself so his head was in his hand that he rested on the table as he leaned toward her. "What do you see in him anyhow? Is it the hair? It's the hair isn't it." She smiled a little in spite of herself and he grinned, his eyes locked on her as if he was the predator between the two of them. He scooted a little closer to her and his tone deepened as he poured on the charm.
"Not the hair. OK. Well, you must like the broody angry type then, right? No? Hmm. Gotta be the claws then, right? You like a guy packing hidden weapons."
That got her attention and she bit the inside of her cheek to stop the growl. With a little hitch in her breathing, her smile fell and she straightened up slightly as she pushed her mug away and turned to face him squarely. He straightened up, realizing a bit too late he'd put his foot in his mouth somehow.
She locked her gaze on him and for the first time since they'd returned, she unsheathed her claws in front of someone other than Logan. With a snikt, she held them inches from his face and let the bright sunlight reflect on the little flecks of blood clinging to them. Tony was stunned. He'd never truly looked at Logan's claws quite that closely before.
"Yeah, that's it," she replied in almost a purr as she leaned toward him a hair. "Must be that." She retracted them quickly and stared down Stark while his mouth hung open. When he still hadn't responded she reached over and popped his chin from below with her finger. "Might wanna close that, honey, you'll catch flies," she said sweetly just before she got up and made her way to the greenhouse.
Scott was grinning in spite of himself and took a moment to enjoy it before he watched her leave. When he knew she was gone, he started to chuckle at the shell shocked Avenger.
"Good God, man," Tony said breathlessly as he stared after her. "Smokin' hot wolverine girl? I thought there was already one of those running around."
"There is," Scott replied, nodding as he pushed off from the counter. "But this one isn't a clone, and as far as we know, she's not trying to kill anyone here. Of course ... the day is young. Not sure you quite made the impression you wanted to," Scott teased.
Tony goggled at him, shaking his head before Scott continued.
"You know, they hit it off right away. You should see him. He's actually been in a great mood since she showed up. Well – for him, anyhow."
Tony shook his head slowly. "Well, yeah. Who wouldn't be, waking up to a girl with razor sharp claws. Jesus." The two men shared a look and laughed between themselves. "I have so much material to work with here. Just. Wow," Stark grinned as Scott shook his head then prompted Tony to get back to work and the two of them went to meet with Forge to get started on the security upgrades.
"She's actually a good part of the reason we need more security," Scott explained as they walked. "The breach we had resulted in her new shiny claws, among other things."
Stark lost all of his good cheer as he realized what Scott was telling him. "That's new? The metal? They didn't do the whole ..." Tony abandoned the question as Scott nodded his head. "Ouch. That's ... that's no good- I thought they were shut down." It was easy to see the wheels turning in his head.
"So did we, but if it wasn't for the fact that she was here with bone claws at the end of last month, got kidnapped and came back like that, I'd have argued it had to have been done years ago." The muscles in Scott's jaw flexed. It was clearly something he'd been bothered by more than he was letting on.
"Yeah, we can't let people like that go breaking in to snatch up kids," Tony agreed, then looked over both shoulders before spinning to walk backward and face Scott. "Speaking of ... how old is the little short and hot girl anyhow? She looks a little young for the old man." Stark looked insanely curious, but he only got a shrug from Scott as he grinned.
"Everyone alive is a little young for the old man," Scott countered, earning a laugh from Tony.
After breakfast, K had set to helping Storm in her greenhouse as a means to keep her mind busy. The women talked as they worked and the two of them quickly cleared out the dead and dying plants and repotted Ororo's favorites in the smaller heated section of the hot house.
Ororo had started quizzing K on some of the little details of her encounter with Sabretooth as both Jean and Charles had coached her to do. To Ororo's surprise, K answered all of her questions. She found it easier to do ... pretty much anything the more she let someone else know about what had happened. It was almost as if telling someone else lifted the weight off her shoulders a bit. Like she didn't have to carry the burden on her own if someone else knew.
They finished up their work and headed back to the kitchen together for a late lunch. When they got there, they both were shocked at the arguments taking place.
Most of the men of the mansion were there with Stark, and all of them were putting in their two cents as they finalized the plans for the new security system. Ororo and K washed their hands carefully with a shared look at the sink before Ro quickly made herself a salad and disappeared.
K however, chose to hang back and see what all the fuss was about. She opened a bottle of water and found an open spot to look at the plans between Forge and Charles. No one it seemed wanted to stand too close to the animated Native American when he was excited as he was.
As the men squabbled and pointed out flaws to each others logic, K took it all in, including all of them. She crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned in, reading the schematics. Forge bumped her accidentally, and in apology he put his arm around her with his hand resting on her shoulder to keep from hitting her again. She naturally leaned a little closer to him as he continued to talk.
Logan watched the scene carefully from across the table, his eyes locked on the two of them. She listened to them argue until she found what she was sure had to be there somewhere. A dead spot they had missed. She put her hand on the one Forge had resting on her shoulder and tapped it gently to get his attention.
"I know you boys probably have this all wrapped up with a bow, but I do have one little question," she started. The entire table fell silent at her soft, high voice cutting through the low timbre that dominated the room. "What do you have going on here?" she asked finally as she pointed out a spot near the back side of the mansion. All of them leaned in as if on cue and searched to see what she saw. Tony smirked and narrowed his eyes at her before honeying up his tone.
"That's covered by the laser sensors, sweetie," Tony replied before he waved his hand over the general area and dismissed her concern completely. She turned her head fully to glare at him.
"No it's not," she said firmly. "This is a dead spot. Look at it closer. Just like the one on the opposite corner."
He chuckled at her insistence. "Are you kidding me?" Tony said, with a disbelieving expression. Just because he thought she was hot didn't mean she could make him look like an idiot in front of a client. "I don't think so, sweetheart. See, I worked out all of these triangulations myself. And if I did the math on it, it's perfect. I'm never wrong on my math." Ego had superseded his flirting, and his tone held some fire as he rested his hands on the schematic and leaned over it. The table of men all had varied reactions from smug acceptance of Tony's assertion down to just apparently assuming that the little woman just had to be mistaken. Except for Logan. He had full faith in her.
K raised an eyebrow slightly his way then shrugged her shoulder up to her ear. "Well, you're wrong this time, sweetheart," she said dryly as she took a sip of water.
Forge's hand slipped from her shoulder and he leaned forward to look at it closer. Tony opened his mouth to argue with her when Forge started to laugh. "She's right Tony. Look. The sensors are here, here, – and here. You didn't account for the line of trees over here. If you did, you'd have put another one in ... here," Forge said with a smile as he looked over at the genius. Tony looked ruffled as he glared first at her, then Forge, then swallowing his pride, finally looked at the schematics a bit closer.
There was a prolonged pause as he tried to see a way around it. "Well I'll be damned. Look at that," he said in a totally resigned tone as he looked over at her. What was more surprising was that she wasn't smirking or gloating in any way.
"Did you happen to find any other abnormalities?" Stark asked as her eyes met his and he came to stand next to her. She glanced over to Logan who smirked at her, enjoying the little laugh at Stark's expense, until of course, Stark got a little too close and rested his hand in the middle of her back. She looked up at Tony, who encouraged her again to take a look, this time with a much kinder expression before she began to look at it closely. It wasn't long before she'd found two more mistakes with some proposed defensive systems placement. She was no genius, but she did have an eye for spatial relations, and as it turned out, weaponry.
Tony was entranced. It wasn't every day you found a girl that could rattle off ballistics, bullet expansion and trajectory statistics like it's common knowledge. Without hearing the whole argument, she'd unknowingly taken Logan's position on nearly everything that he'd argued earlier, though she expanded the reasoning behind it very clearly with hard facts that Logan knew, but didn't have the patience to explain himself. She was old fashioned, and preferred what she called real weaponry over lasers and other 'gadgets' whenever possible.
When Stark asked her why she preferred a lead core over a copper bullet, for instance, she accurately drew out the difference in expansion sizes, noting that although the copper would hit like a mack truck, the expansion on the lead core tore a bigger hole and would make your attacker 'bleed like a sonofabitch'. Logan laughed out loud at that one in spite of the fact that Stark was all but leaning over her shoulder.
But on seeing how friendly Tony was trying to get, Logan quickly decided to intervene and take her out for few hours before she got asked out by the billionaire savant. He nearly made it too.
They were right at the front door when Stark came up and took her hand to pull her to a stop. She turned and watched him with a questioning expression on her face.
"Hey, just gonna throw this out there, you know- just in case," Tony said with a very charming grin before he jerked his chin toward Logan. "Hey man, no disrespect," he muttered before turning his attention back to the little brunette. "But K, when you get tired of Mr. Angry-Hairy-Attitude, give me a call, alright? We can go over a few schematics ... hit the range, blow some things up, and we might even talk about weapons too. I'll show you a good time, I swear."
For just a moment she had to stare at him before she gently pulled her hand back with a smile. "Charming," she said quietly, earning a crooked grin from Stark. "Though I appreciate the offer – that's ... just not gonna happen," K replied as Logan placed his hand on the small of her back, and guided her outside.
"You say that now, but my offer stands," Tony called out before the door closed. He frowned to himself, and took a moment to gather himself. It wasn't often that he was turned down for anything.