Notes: Welcome to Volume 8! Can you believe it? We're pretty darn excited about this one. I can promise you there are some great surprises in store as we continue on in our quest to make everyone happy.

If you haven't already, you should catch the end of Volume 7 "Paper Training" before you start this one, but I'm sure you've already finished that one, so… *makes presentation hands*

Chapter 1: "Naughty or Nice"

It was Christmas Eve when a bright red Mustang pulled up to the mansion, and a woman climbed out of the car to bang on the front door. She had short hair, dyed — this time in black with bright red streaks — and she looked to be in a bit of a state, if the bottles of expensive liquor in the front seat were any indication.

She kept banging on the door for some time before she started to shout as well, "Katherine Bishop, I know you're in there, you cheat. Stop hiding and come out!"

When the door finally did open, it clearly wasn't who Susan Bishop had expected as a tall brunette with his arms crossed was standing in the entryway.

"Can I help you?" Scott asked as he looked down his nose at the obstinate woman.

Susan peered up at him for a moment and glared. "You're not him, are you?" she asked, slightly slurred. "The one she's engaged too?"

"I'm afraid not," he replied, holding up his left hand to show that he was already taken.

"Good." She drew herself up a bit taller and gave him her best glare, and though it was obvious she was related to Kate, the glare had none of the power Kate's did. "It's Christmas Eve. And I'm going to see my sister."

Scott looked over his shoulder for a moment before he turned back to her. "I'm not sure she's around, to be honest. She had plans tonight."

"Well that's just typical." Susan tried to see around him as best she could. "Little Katie hiding behind people again. Can't even be bothered to tell me her plans."

"I'm sorry, but — did you tell her you were coming? She's been here for quite a while now, and I can't say that I've ever seen you before."

"Like I'd ever be caught dead here," she said with a sneer.

"Then perhaps it's best you just leave if that's how you feel," Scott said, already closing the door.

"You tell her she can't just — I'm her sister," Susan said in an increasingly scandalized tone.

"If that's true, then you shouldn't have any trouble giving her the courtesy of a phone call." He gave her a tight smile. "The number hasn't changed."

"You tell me where she's gone," Susan demanded.

At that Scott slipped outside and crossed his arms over his chest again as he glared down at her. "Lady, I don't have to tell you anything. If you want to talk to your sister, give her a phone call and tell her you're here. Outside of an act of God, you're not getting past me otherwise."

She matched his glare for a long moment before she sneered at him and turned on her heel. "Giuletta was right. She's fallen in with freaks and losers. No wonder she's gone down the drain."

Scott actually laughed at that one. "Yeah, that's gonna make me want to give you what you want."

She just tipped her chin at him. "Laugh if you want, but when I'm through with her... " She glared again and stomped off, muttering something about the "board."

"Drive safely," Scott called out before he picked up his cell and called up Anton. "I've got a drunk driver leaving the school right now. Red mustang, you need the plate number?"

Kate and Kurt came back from their midnight Christmas Mass all smiles the morning of Christmas Day, completely in the dark as to Kate's "family visit" the previous day as they settled in for breakfast a bit later than everyone else, seeing as they'd been up all night.

"It's even more fun when I feel like I understand more of it," Kate told Kurt as she poured them both a cup of coffee. "Next year, I'll go up with you for the communion."

Kurt just grinned her way and nodded. "It really does complete the experience."

She sat down beside him with the coffee and leaned into his arm. "It'll be our first Christmas as a married couple too," she muttered. "So lots of firsts next year."

"How was Mass?" K asked as she and Logan came into the kitchen.

"Really fun," Kate said earnestly, picking her head up off of Kurt's arm to grin at them as Kurt nodded his agreement.

"Merry Christmas," he said, the smile steadily growing.

"God Jul," K replied, leaning into Logan. The two of them seemed to have come to an agreement after the Japan trip and as a result, both of them were a little easier for everyone to deal with.

"Did you get the presents we got you?" Kate asked. "I asked the bamfs to 'port them in last night, but I wanted to double check."

"Yep, sure did. They woke us up with all the brimstone," Logan told her. "They don't get time zones, apparently."

"Sorry about that," Kurt said with a sheepish grin. "They do try."

Logan just shrugged and took his coffee into the dining room to do the slow wake up. "I was going to make Swedish pancakes, but … I got distracted. Sorry," K said to Kate.

Kate made a show of looking thoroughly disappointed before she let out a breath. "That's alright. It's the thought that counts," she said with a little grin. "Have you seen Annie yet this morning? She hasn't had the twins yet, has she? I'm still hoping for a birthday share."

"There was no rampant panic in the halls, so I think she's probably still entirely miserable," K replied. "Thought about bringing her breakfast but I don't want to screw with the sweet tea."

Kate clicked her tongue in sympathy and nodded. "Well we found a couple really cute onesies in Switzerland. I would've had the bamfs 'port them in too, but Annie gets super sick around the brimstone smell."

"Not for much longer, I'm sure."

"So, did we miss anything while we were gone?" Kurt asked over his coffee. "It sounds like we didn't miss the big things, anyway."

Logan and K both looked to each other just before Scott walked in. "Slim has a message for ya," Logan said. "Don'cha, Scotty?"

Kate and Kurt glanced at each other before Kate waved at Scott. "Heya, boss man. Merry Christmas. What's the message?"

Scott huffed a bit and shook his head. "Depends on how much of a message you want, honestly. Your sister showed up yesterday afternoon ... or, she said she was your sister. She was drunk and rolled up in a bright red mustang — got a little heated when I told her I needed more than her word to let her inside."

"Bright red mustang sounds like her," Kate said with a sigh. "I'm sorry — she's a handful when she drinks."

"I told her to give you a phone call so you could clear her. She was drunk enough that ... well, I doubt she drove herself all the way home."

Kate raised an eyebrow and checked her phone. "She hasn't called or texted me in ages," she said, shaking her head. "What the heck's she doing at the mansion, anyway? I thought she was up in Maine with her second husband."

"She wouldn't say — more than just to scream at the door and make a scene. She wanted to talk to you."

Kate sighed and ran a hand over her face, but she nodded. "Yeah, I'll give her a call. Who knows what she wants, but hey, it's nice to know she was thinking about me on Christmas Eve," she said with a bit of a snort.

"I don't know what kind of a relationship you have with her, but the next time she comes back like that, I'm going to send Logan and K to answer the door," Scott warned.

"She won't come back," Kate promised. "I'll… figure out whatever this is and get her sorted out. We're usually pretty square, but her second husband's a jerk, so... " She shrugged. "Family drama. Holidays. It's a thing." As she said it, she leaned over and planted a kiss on Kurt''s cheek. "Sorry in advance for the in-laws. Sadly, we can't just lock mine up on an island somewhere."

"You don't know that for sure," Kurt teased.

"That's true. She might like a tropical island home," Kate said, pretending to think about it. "She spends half her time sailing around on cruises and yachting anyway."

"Sounds boring as hell," K commented dryly. "Palm trees and no fires to warm up by."

"Yeah, without the pirates, what's the point of the high seas?" Kate teased Kurt's way and he just smirked at her for a moment and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Utterly boring," he agreed.

The Christmas morning continued that way for a while — mostly quiet as everyone who had a significant other seemed to have decided to take a page out of Kate and Kurt's book and disappear for a while. It wasn't quite the big party affair that it had been last year.

But there was a flurry of excitement toward the end of the day, as Annie's sister Theresa had come over to help make a big Christmas dinner while Annie wasn't feeling up to it — and of course, right as it was time to eat, there was a knock at the door.

Everyone kind of looked at each other for a moment, and K shook her head, gave Logan a quick kiss and slipped off to see what kind of lunatic was wandering around waaaaay out there on Christmas Day. But she still had to laugh when she opened the door to see Tony standing there with a few crates and wearing a Santa hat.

He grinned at her and picked her up in a hug. "Have you been naughty or nice?" he asked when he set her back down.

"I'm not entirely sure? But I'm not sitting on your lap to find out," K shot back with a grin.

He just grinned wider at her as he threw his arm back to gesture at the crates. "So, I loved the ideas you sent? And I improved them, of course."

"Naturally," she said with a nod as a few of the guys started to step into the entryway.

"And then I thought — well, it's Christmas. So why not bring some for some of my favorite X-Men?" he added with a grin. "So I made a few more of those bracelets, and wait 'til your resident Hawkeye gets a load of the EMPs — those should knock out your cyborg and robot problems. What is it with you guys and cyborgs, anyway? Don't answer that — I don't want to know."

"I'm not sure," she said with a little smile. "Come on in, ya lunatic." He stepped the rest of the way inside, and before the rest of the group could say or do anything, his hired men picked up the crates and hauled them in. He threw an arm around K's shoulders and waved Kate over when she peeked around the corner.

"Santa Stark," K said, pointing at him.

"I see that," Kate laughed, shaking her head.

"I'm confused, though — are you the milk and cookies type or more the whiskey and ice type?" K teased.

"Oh, definitely whiskey and ice," he said. "I think itty bitty Kate's old enough to know the truth about Santa now, all grown up. No ponies this year, huh, Katie?"

"Barn's full already," Kate answered with a shrug.

Tony just laughed and shrugged. "Second crate's yours, Hawkeye. Clint won't touch the EMPs, but I figured you should have a good collection of 'em." He grinned at K under his arm. "Seriously. So many robots. What is this obsession?"

"I know, right?" she said, shaking her head. "Okay, show us what you have — in the crates. Please."

He grinned wider as his hired men levered open the crates and then launched into an explanation for their benefit of all the different toys he'd brought. K's specifications for a DNA-specific gun, he said, was brilliant, and he'd even figured out a few fun rounds that she hadn't asked for. He opened up the case and made a point not to touch it before he let her hold it. "There ya go. First touch. All yours, sweetheart."

"You say that to all the girls, don't you?" K shook her head with a grin, picked up the pistol, and went through all of the usual safety procedures. "We're gonna need to play with this later," K said looking up at Logan. "After-dinner explosions I think."

"Why do you think I brought it here personally?" Tony asked with a grin. "Come on, K. A man's got to see his inventions in action."

"I'm game," she said. "Okay — Kate's turn." She moved to slip out from under his arm so he could hang on Kate for a few minutes, sure to bring the gun with her to hand to Logan to check over too.

Kate had to laugh as Tony ran over the explanation of the new arrows — from new putty ones that would "stick faster and harder and longer" (he said, waggling his eyebrows) to the EMPs to deal with their "weird cyborg infestation problems" to the quiver that he promised she could take through security and never set off a single alarm.

He was in full exhibition mode, showing off the inventions and explaining well over their heads half the work that had gone into it before Annie politely noted that dinner was waiting for them and invited him to eat with them.

He grabbed both Kate and K by the arms with a wide grin. "Come on, ladies. Dinner — and then explosions."

Logan and Kurt both shared a look before Kurt quietly reminded Logan that the whole point of these inventions was to keep the girls safer as they headed into the dining room to take their seats next to their fiances. K grinned at both of them and leaned over to kiss Logan before it could get out of hand with Stark's ridiculous games.

Theresa's little boys were also there at dinner, and Aman, as usual, went straight to Kurt, which got a little suggestive eyebrow wiggle from Tony Kate's way as Kurt's biggest fan crawled up in his lap, still clutching his bamf doll in one hand.

And both of Rachel and Anton's little girls were giggling shyly and 'whispering' about Iron Man from down at their end of the table until Kate waved them over to say hi. Mary Beth crawled right up to steal Tony's Santa hat and refused to give it back, though Tony didn't seem to mind at all.

Somehow, Tony kept the energy up all through dinner, to the kids' delight, answering all their questions about what it was like to be Iron Man — and by the time they were all done, he was practically bouncing in place asking where the target range was.

"Seeing as you have EMP's?" Scott said with a severely disapproving look. "Take it outside."

Kate shot a little smirk Scott's way. "I'll show you where I set up for the archery classes when the weather's nice," she told Tony. "I want to test out the putties. Those are great for messing with big and ugly guys." She shot a glance K's way.

"I loved the pictures, by the way," Tony said with a grin.

"I did too," Annie said with a little smirk as Scott looked like he was doing his very best not to say something about that in front of all her family.

"All her." Kate jerked her thumb over K's way as she gave them a tiny bow.

"Let's get it over with while you still have some light to shoot with," Logan said.

The two women were more than happy to test out their new toys — and as expected from a Stark invention, the explosions were spectacular. It was exactly the kind of show they'd been hoping for on Christmas Day, and both women were grinning widely by the time it was through.

"Do you ever shoot rifles too?" Tony asked when K cleared the last of the targets with the explosive rounds.

"Why?" she asked. "You think you've got something big and bad enough for little old me?"

"Just curious as to what you consider too big of a gun," he said with a smirk.

"If you need to mount it to a vehicle, it's too big," she replied easily. "Unless you're just a little bitch."

"Well. If you guys ever have need of a sniper rifle — I think … I have something perfect for you."

"Not likely an issue," K told him. "But it sounds like fun. Tell you what, I'll call you if the occasion comes up." With that, Logan and Kurt stepped up and gave Tony a warning look, but it was clear that his mood was pretty well unsinkable tonight as he bounced all the way back up to the house, even turning to the guys and promising to keep the girls well-stocked in fresh arrows and rounds.

They sent him off, laughing to themselves, and when the four of them got into the house, Scott was standing there with his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised.

"What's up, boss man?" Kate asked with a grin.

"Is this going to be a regular occurrence? Stark just ... inviting himself over with new and more dangerous weapons?" Scott asked.

"Kinda sounds like it," K said with a shrug. "Is that a problem? I mean ... Mr. Big Bad Iron Man making sure that the poor defenseless little girls here have some super special tools to take down creeps like the one that tried to snatch your beloved?" She tipped her head to the side and stared up at him with slightly widened eyes.

"I'd like a little heads-up," Scott said with a dry look. "Not all our uninvited holiday guests are so…" He let the sentence drop and shook his head.

"I didn't know he was coming over tonight," K promised, keeping up her innocent look. "And honestly, I expected he wouldn't finish this thing for a few months."

He just shook his head. "Alright. Next year? He has to call ahead."

"I'll just tell him that's a general rule, okay?" K offered. "But I can't promise that he'll listen."

"He'll listen," Logan said with a nod, and K smiled and kissed him hard, promising to keep her cold hands to herself just this once.

Scott tipped his head Logan's way and smirked for a moment before he turned back to go find Annie. "Merry Christmas," he said over his shoulder.

Logan looked over at Kurt "Can you have the bamfs bring all that crap upstairs? I'll take care of this one." He tipped his head toward K. "DNA specific or not, those rounds shouldn't be near the kids here." Kurt nodded and gave the bamfs their directions as Logan gave K a kiss then tossed her over his shoulder. "G'nite," he said with a little smirk before he headed off with her.

Kate watched them leave with a smirk before she slid her arms around Kurt from behind and leaned her head into the space between his shoulder blades. "I think they have the right idea."

"Yes, in situations like this, they usually do," Kurt agreed. "Did you want to walk tonight or take the quick route?"

"Oh, I think I'm way too tired out from all the Christmas fun," she said with a laugh. "Walking just sounds like no fun."

"Santa Stark took it out of all of us, I think," Kurt replied. "If not for the girls being too young to catch those innuendos, I think Scott might have had a stroke."

"Yeah, he's… Tony." Kate laughed into his back. "I hope he didn't take all your energy."

"We'll just have to see," Kurt teased before he teleported them right up to their room.