utterly DELIGHTED that you two can't take K accepting the flirting from Tony. The fact that she does work so well with Logan - to the point that it's creepy for her to be with anyone else? YES. EXCELLENT. I love it! (Scruffy and robbie - *muah!*) Happy ... almost new years!

Territorial Boys

At the moment, K was trying to get herself a cup of coffee and Tony and had just stepped up behind her to lean in over her shoulder. "What's it gonna take to get a second date?" Tony asked quietly.

"Probably something more smooth than the full court press," K said easily, though she leaned back into him for just a moment. "I need time to think about it, Mr. Stark."

"You've had all night," Tony replied. "Alone. Hard to think like that."

She turned to face him and rested one hand on the side of his neck. "Tony. Let me breathe a little."

He gave her a little smile and of course, ignored the request and pulled her a little closer. "Is that your way of saying I'm taking your breath away?"

"No," K laughed before she relented just enough to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I need coffee."

"That has zero effect on your system, little miss advanced healing."

"It makes me feel like I'm a nicer person."

"I'm okay with you being not nice."

"Mr. Stark-" he grinned wider and she shook her head at him. "-alright. One more date."

"Is that your subtle way of admitting I was right?" Tony asked. "I was right - and I can show you a good time without getting you busted."

"I don't know if you got me busted yet."

"I didn't. I'm watching the chatter." He was still grinning crookedly at her.

"Fine … it looks like you might be right. On this. The one time. So I'll … give you another shot. But that's not a guarantee of anything happening but good company.."

He didn't even try to hide his reaction when he pulled her to him and kissed her soundly. "You won't regret it."

"My concern is that you will," K replied before she slipped out of his grip and snatched up her mug. "I'm going to go see the guys. So if you're not going that way …"

"Oh, I am," Tony said, rushing to catch up simply so he could walk into the dining room with his arm around her back and his hand resting at her waist. "Cap."

"Tony," Steve said, then frowned K's way slightly. "K."

"Morning, Steve," K said with a little smile. She started toward the spot Scott usually occupied, and Tony was at least smart enough to simply pull her chair out for her rather than try to redirect her. Of course, he took the seat on her other side, too and kept fairly close as he pulled over the latest reports and started trying to tell K that her best shot was just to stay where she was.

"You know. Where it's safe," Tony said, smiling her way.

Logan had just gotten done with a long, hard run in the gym when he came into the dining room, cleaned up from his run. He paused in the doorway when he saw what was going on, though he was more irritated than anything that it was Stark that was sucking up K's time.

"Good morning, Logan," K said with a genuine smile his way as soon as she saw him.

Logan of course let out a little sound but didn't speak, though that only had K smirking into her coffee mug. It wasn't really until then that she realized how much the two of them didn't like her dating Stark. Which really only cemented her decision. Of course … before she followed through, it wouldn't hurt anyone to watch how the two men were going to react.

K ignored the way the three men were all pointedly trying to ignore each other, shaking her head to herself at their whole … territorial nonsense.

Scott came in a short while later, already trying to make a morning routine he could rely on, and when he saw how Tony was leaning close to K, he frowned to himself and simply took his seat.

And when it was clear that still, no one was going to be doing any talking, K pushed back from the table. "Well … I guess I'll go find some peace and quiet away from all of this incessant chatter," she said under her breath. Tony stood up to follow and she held up a hand his way. "I never said 'when', Mr. Stark. A girl needs time to herself."

Tony watched her go with a grin while the other three half-glared his way. "What are you doing, Tony?" Steve said in a dull tone. "She's not like your usual … tastes."

"Which is what makes her perfect," Tony said frankly as he moved to sit closer to Steve and Logan.

"You're going to chase her off," Steve said - and it was easy enough to hear the edge to his tone. "Or is that your plan? Screw around until they need to run?"

"I …" Tony looked insulted as he rested one hand over his heart. "I … have no intentions of seeing her leave… before she's ready."

Steve frowned as Logan growled low and soft enough to honestly rattle the room. "So you're trying to snipe their third?" Steve asked, looking as if it was the most underhanded thing he'd ever heard.

"Well when you put it like that, it sounds bad." Tony frowned and tried to get Steve to see his viewpoint. "I honestly like her. Not … not a one night stand kind of thing either. Though I wouldn't say no."

Steve seemed to consider him at that and let out a breath. It was pretty well known that even though Tony had a reputation for picking up women on the short term, he had also gone through a long string of serious relationships. At least as serious as he could muster. It was especially unfortunate, when it had turned out that most, if not all of those relationships had been subversive attempts at his fortune, or his company.

"Besides, we've only been on one date," Tony said, frowning Steve's way. "I'm not that easy to fall head over heels." He was scoffing, but Steve had to laugh.

"Tony, you have a type," Steve said frankly. "And that girl - she could nuke you and you wouldn't ever see it coming."

"Wait. How did this somehow go from me and my 'foul intentions' to her destroying me?"

Steve let out a hollow laugh. "God, you're an idiot." He shook his head and turned to Logan and Scott. "If you're up for it - let's go peek in on what Agents Quartermain and Coulson have found. As I understand it, they're the ones working hard to get the three of you settled in somewhere safe."

Logan shook his head as he got to his feet. "No rush, Scotty. Take your time."

"No, I'd rather go with you," Scott said, moving quickly to join them as they headed off to talk to Quartermain and Coulson.

K hadn't gotten too far from the dining room before Janet caught up with her, biting her lip lightly as she fell into step next to her. "So. How was the date?" Janet asked, smelling and looking a bit anxious.

"It was fine," K answered. "Nothing happened - if you're worried. And you smell worried, Janet. Relax."

"It's just … Scott and Logan …"

"I'm not ditching them if they're not ditching me," K said in a more firm tone. "And even if they want to ditch, I'm not sticking around Stark."

Janet stopped in her tracks and frowned as K continued to walk, but recovered quickly. She was in a determined march to catch up with a frown on her features that simply wasn't normal on her. "Hey, wait. If they were to ditch, which I'm not saying they would - why not Tony?"

K let out a little laugh and tipped her head toward her room for Janet to follow. "He's incredibly sweet. More than I think most people realize, but … he draws down way too much attention for me to not draw in the wrong crowd."

Janet frowned at that and crossed her arms over her chest, clearly working it over in her mind. "But … there is no safer place …"

"I'm sorry," K said turning to face her head on. "We're here in this hidden place because what … exactly? I thought he was usually camped out at the Avenger's place …"

"Yeah, okay, but that wasn't the Department."

"Which is just proof. The people after me could eat the people after him for lunch. It's not smart," K said with a little smirk. "Don't worry. I'm going to tell him when we go out. I'll let him down easy."

"Tony doesn't really … let down easy very well."

"You're not giving him enough credit," K replied. "Now. Did you want to help me find something to wear that doesn't look like you're serving me on a silver platter this time, or are you going to make this harder on me?"

"Yeah, okay," Janet said with a little shrug. "I just was going by the usual .."

K shook her head at her. "Yeah, don't do that. Please."

Janet perked right up and drew an 'x' over her chest. "Cross my heart. We can dress you up and not make you into one of those girls."

Logan wasn't exactly pleased with the latest intel, and he was determined to make a plan on where to go next. He didn't like anything that was going on, and he wasn't real thrilled with Stark's outlook.

He still didn't think that K would be distracted by Tony for long, but …

Logan narrowed his eyes at the intel coming in and started thinking about how to approach if they did manage to lose K to the idiotic billionaire. Hiding would be harder. Travel harder. "Damnit," he grumbled under his breath between clenched teeth.

"What's wrong?" Scott asked, staring at Logan openly from the doorway. Scott had been listening to Coulson talk about a few options that he'd been working on - fabricating, really, which was apparently what he'd done for K before to set her up in Oregon. But now, Scott was paying closer attention to Logan instead.

Logan glanced up and met his gaze for a moment. "Spot I was thinking of has activity," Logan said before he looked back to the map and glared at it. "Gotta keep looking." He let out a breath but didn't look up again. "I'll find something good. Don't worry."

"Has K helped you look yet?"

"No."

Scott frowned a bit deeper at that and stepped closer to see what Logan was up to. Reports were laid out across the table and it was clear that everything along the northern border was saturated with sightings of Department people. He quickly realized that every spot that he'd stayed with Logan had a heavier concentration, too. "Are those … all places you used?"

Logan frowned and nodded. "Those are a lot of the places I stayed in the past couple years, yeah." He reached over and tapped a spot in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming. "Except there. That's not me."

Scott held his breath for a moment. "Then they're probably hunting her now too."

"Or … they think I was there," Logan said. "Have to ask her if she spent any time in Wyoming."

The two of them looked over the maps for a long moment before Logan nodded to himself and simply headed down the hall to talk to her with Scott following in his wake. When they got down to K's room, Janet was still there chatting and asking her about color preferences.

"Got a minute?" Logan asked and to his relief, she smiled crookedly and waved them in.

"Thanks, Jan - whatever you think is best, I'm sure it'll be fine," K said as she got to her feet. She watched as Janet skirted by Logan and Scott. "I was starting to wonder if you two were going to talk to me again."

Logan ignored her comment and dove right into the heart of the matter. "I'm going through the new intel, looking for a path. They've got an established presence in just about every spot I've stopped at in the last five or six years …"

"Why? You weren't going to go back to them, were you?" K asked with a frown before she sat down on the bed again and patted it for them to join her, which Logan frowned at the action, but ultimately headed her way.

"No," Logan said, shaking his head as he sat down near her. "But they're staking out just the same. And I'm wondering if they're doing the same with you. They have a presence in a little berg in the middle of Wyoming that I know I haven't been to."

K frowned and shook her head lightly. "No … I didn't stay in Wyoming," she said with her eyes narrowed. "Could it be something else?"

Logan shrugged. "Who knows. I'll run it by Cap and let you know." He shifted to get to his feet and she reached out and laid a hand on his forearm.

"Hey," K said, almost frowning at him. "I can help too, you know. I have nothing else to do and I'm getting a little stir crazy already."

"You know you're welcome to look through things with me," Logan said with a frown. "Unless you can think of something better to do."

"She could get those last few slugs out," Scott said from where he was leaning against the dresser with his arms crossed. "You never did let the medical personnel get them out, and you said they were bugging you."

K turned toward Logan with an open look of shock. "I missed some?"

Logan shrugged. "Bound to happen."

She let out a little noise and got up - only to push Logan back flat on the bed. "You could have told me." She pointed a finger his way. "Don't move. I'm going to fix you up, big guy."

"I'll … get the first aid supplies," Scott offered, rushing out the door to grab whatever K might need.

"Logan," K said as she crossed her arms over her chest and frowned his way.

"You were busy," he defended.

"I was not." K shook her head at him. "Get comfortable. Where are they?"

Logan scooted further up on the bed and pointed out the spots where it was still sore. "They're moving closer to the surface, but still hurts."

"Like it's going to get any better on its own," she said as she knelt down next to him. "How do you want me to do this? Your call."

"You can feel 'em through the skin," Logan said. "One at the hip. Two in the shoulder. I'd cut 'em out myself but I can't reach it right -"

"- and you don't trust Stark's staff," K finished, nodding. "You should have told me sooner. I'll take care of it. Take your shirt off. I'll fix this as quick as I can."

Logan sat up long enough to do as she asked, and as soon as he got halfway comfortable, she couldn't help but tease lightly. "If you want my attention, you don't need to resort to asking me to cut you open."

"Sweetheart, I got better ways to get your attention."

"Uh-huh," K said, smiling still as Scott came back with the first aid kit. "Prove it." Logan blinked a couple of times then let out a scoffing sort of a chuckle.

"I know most of this isn't going to help, but it should at least take care of the blood," Scott said as he handed the kit to K.

"Thank you, Caramel Mocha," K told him with a smile as she laid out some gauze and found a scalpel. "I've got it from here, Scott. Close the door on your way out." She turned her attention to Logan at that. "Do I need to hold you down?"

Logan's eyebrows went up for just a moment. "We'll see."

K held her breath and watched his face as she found the lump under his skin near his hip first. "Tell me when," K said, holding the scalpel ready, though even when she waited for his word, it was clear Logan was barely restraining himself as she dug out the first one - she worked quickly enough, but still. "Okay, yeah … this isn't going to work well … hold on."

She cleaned up the skin - that was already sealing itself shut then gestured for him to move more to the middle of the bed. "Alright. I'm going to pin you. I know you're stronger, so just … try to remember this was your idea."

Logan had to smirk at that, but went along with it as she climbed over him and pinned his arms with her knees. "This was my idea?" Logan asked with a crooked smile.

"Yes. Yes it was," K said with a nod and a smirk of her own as she looked for the two that were closely set in his shoulder near the joint. "This one will be worse," she said, though this time she didn't warn him before she started cutting and he swore outright at the start.

"Woah, easy, easy," K muttered, working quickly. "Not trying to hurt you."

"I know," Logan said with his eyes shut tightly.

She got them out fast, and when she had both of them, she grabbed another bit of gauze from the stack Scott had brought then quickly started to clean him up. "Got 'em both." K was biting her lip as she finished up though she wasn't rushing like she'd been doing before.

She had more or less finished, but hadn't yet moved from where she was perched over him, and when he realized it, Logan couldn't help but smirk up at her. "Comfy?"

K paused then took a moment to watch him, resting one hand on his stomach. "Very."

But that only got a little laugh out of him, and a moment later she leaned forward to undo the pin she had him in. "You're free to go," K told him before he flipped her over and pinned her.

"Good to know, but I'm not going anywhere yet," Logan said low and quiet enough that no one else could have caught it had they been in the room with the two of them.

"Need a plan first, right?" K replied just as low.

"And you an' Scott. Not what I meant though."

She looked taken off guard for just a moment but smirked back at him. "I wasn't aware the travel situation was up for discussion still."

"It's not," Logan agreed with a little smile before he let her out of the pin and offered her a hand up. "And it's not gonna be. So come on. Quit screwin' around and take a look at what we've got."

"You got it," K replied, quick to follow, though she was a bit slow in handing his shirt back to him. "What have you got so far?" she asked as they stepped out of her room and headed toward where Steve was still working.

"Few leads, mostly a mess though," he admitted. "We'll figure it out, I'm sure."

She nodded and gave him a little smile. "I've been thinking about it … and I'm not adverse to leaving the country for a while if it helps."

He had to smile a little wider at that as he pulled the shirt back on. "Good. We'd have to rely on SHIELD to move us if that's the case though."

The pair of them met Scott halfway back toward where Coulson and Quartermain were laying out their best recommendations. Both of them had their own thoughts on what to do and where to go, and Logan wasn't expecting Coulson to have such a detailed possibility in place should they choose to take that route.

"It's a little beyond the reach of the department, and a little bit … closer to where they are looking for Logan and Scott," Coulson said as he laid out one of his options. "It's closer to the northern border, but the fact is, they're pushing further to the center of the country and I know we can get you past them and into place."

"Not sure I'm game to be that close yet," K said as she came to stand next to him. "Wisconsin, huh? You really do have a soft spot don't you?"

"We were already in Wisconsin for a while," Logan said as he looked over Quartermain's pick, which conveniently was close to where he'd gone to college. "This one's a little too close to Nebraska for my liking."

"Kentucky's out," Quartermain said. "It was a great area to aim for with lots of places to hide in the mountains but … it was almost too perfect. Your creepy stalker has been spotted in the vicinity of Cade's cove … which …"

"Is kinda where we were aiming for in a roundabout way," K finished. "That's perfect." She leaned back to stand up straight and put her hands on her hips, tapping her fingers as she looked at the map. "We could say to hell with it and go to South Beach."

"I somehow doubt that drinking on the beach is an adequate cover," Coulson said with a smirk.

"You sure?" K asked. "You can go too. I'll make you a mojito."

Coulson smirked a little wider. "Maybe next time."

As the adults seemed to be getting along swimmingly, Scott slowly backed out of the discussion. He hadn't said a word to anyone, but since their arrival, the headache that had been coming and going was most definitely staying.

It wasn't quite like before - just behind his eyes and at the back of his head. Now it was just … it seemed to be everywhere. And the pressure points weren't doing anything for him at all. He was rubbing one eye with the heel of his palm, just putting steady pressure on it as he worked his way back to his room. He needed a little privacy. And some time alone.

He thought he'd closed the door behind him, though by the time he got to his room, he was moving pretty fast, and as he passed through the room, he knew something was going to happen. He just wasn't sure what. He stepped out onto the balcony and rested both hands on the railing, his glasses in one hand and his eyes shut tight as he kept repeating to himself over and over 'please stop'.

After a long moment, he thought that the headache was ebbing slightly, and he put the glasses back on before he opened his eyes - though he frowned when he realized that even his peripheral vision was tinted red.

He didn't hear someone walking up behind him. And he truly thought he was alone as he looked for a spot somewhat close to the grounds that he could focus on to calm himself down. He had his hand on the side of his glasses, more as an assurance that they were there and working when Steve cleared his throat and startled Scott just enough to dislodge the glasses from where they were properly seated on the bridge of his nose.

And just like that - as Scott startled and turned slightly toward Steve, that little jerk on the glasses let out the red beam and obliterated several trees and what looked to be a rather expensive sports car. He got the glasses back on, and covered his eyes with his hands just to be sure, but all Scott could think in that moment was just 'oh crap', though all that came out was a string of apologies while Scott blindly tried to get away from the balcony and make himself smaller.

"Are you alright?" Steve said in an almost awed tone as he slowly walked toward Scott.

"I'm sorry - I didn't mean to - I'm fine."

Steve looked toward the wreckage and shook his head. "Are you sure?" He gestured toward the smoking trees and tried not to smile at it. "No one was hurt."

"Oh good," Scott said, honestly relieved, though he kept his eyes shut just in case.

Steve let out a breath of a laugh when the car blew up a short moment later and was sure to put his hands on both of Scott's shoulders. "How about we get you inside?"

Scott nodded quickly at that. "I didn't mean to hit that car," he said.

"It's fine," Steve said in a reassuring tone. "It was Tony's."

Scott nodded, but he wasn't sure he felt much better, even after he peeked open one eye and was relieved that the glasses seemed to be keeping it in. Though by that point, he was practically holding them to his face, worried that the whatever it was that blasted people and things would leak out the sides.

Steve frowned slightly. "Is that … is that normal for you?" He gestured to Scott's glasses. "The glow, I mean."

"It's not gone?" Scott asked, his eyes widening behind the glasses.

Steve shook his head lightly. "Do you want me to get Logan for you?"

Scott thought about it for a second and then shook his head. "I should go to him," he said. "That - I probably just blew our cover," he added, a little quieter.

Steve held his breath for a moment and nodded in understanding. "Of course. This … is one of the top weapons designers in the world. He has a habit of blowing up stuff he shouldn't … maybe not." But he kept one hand on Scott's shoulder all the same as the two of them headed down the hall.

Of course, when they got to where they'd been looking over maps, Logan and K were both looking out the window at the burning car, watching the staff scramble to put it out, and simply sipping coffee.

Scott winced a bit when he saw that they already knew and paused in the doorway before he blurted out, "It was an accident."

K smiled his way, and Logan was absolutely smirking as they turned to look at him. "Okay, we'll go with that then," Logan said with a laugh.

"It was."

"Still, it was a great shot," K agreed. "You made Coulson glad he parks behind the place."

Scott looked between the two of them, clearly surprised by how well they were taking it. "We… should probably get moving then, huh?"

"I'm working out the final details on sending you three overseas for a short while," Coulson said as he looked up, also smirking crookedly. "Tragic accident."

Scott crossed his arms. Even if he didn't like Tony, he didn't want to get blamed for something he didn't do on purpose. "It. Was."

"No one is arguing that," Logan promised. "I just like the story better if it wasn't."

Scott let out a breath and shook his head. "Well, it was."

"I know," Logan said, looking perfectly serious, even if it was clear he was still highly amused.

When Tony came in a short while later, looking completely taken off guard, he looked around the room at the group of them for a long moment. "What the hell was that?"

"God. Paying you back," K said straight faced as she kept working with Coulson. "You need to buy yourself some limits, Tony."

"You're not funny," Tony said, pointing a finger her way. "And I'm serious. What the hell was that?"

Scott cleared his throat for a moment. "Me."

Tony spun to face him and narrowed his eyes for a moment and gestured to him with one hand as he walked toward him. "What's with the glow?" He tipped his head to the side, outright studying him. "How'd you do that?"

"It was an accident," Scott said firmly, though he was unconsciously squaring up under Tony's gaze.

Tony was nodding instantly, eyes closed, clearly more irritated that his question wasn't answered. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I dont' care. How did you do that?"

"I don't really know," Scott admitted. "It just happens." He gestured to his glasses but didn't tap them for fear of moving them again. "I think it's still happening, if it's glowing."

Tony tipped his head to the side again, watching him. "Okay. We need a little road trip."

"Forget it," Logan growled out.

"I just … I just want to give him a chance to blow things up in a more safe environment," Tony defended, clearly looking at Logan as if he was entirely unreasonable.

"No," Logan said, shaking his head. "Your idea of secured and mine are two different things."

"Ooh, and … he's forgetting that his secured firing ranges are all on military complexes," K said without looking up from the screen she was sharing with Coulson, who was nodding along.

Tony spun her way before he even thought about it and did a solid double take watchin her. "Um. Excuse me. Agent - are you feeding her intel?" Tony asked, looking completely off his guard.

"No," Coulson said before he smiled Tony's way as pleasantly as he was able. "She already knew."

K reined in the smirk as she got to her feet and pointed to something on the screen. "Run those two by Logan and Scott, please." She looked up at Tony. "Our timeline is short. I guess if you're still interested, I'll see you at seven-ish? Unless … you don't have a car to work with."

Tony stared back at her for a long moment at a complete loss of words, while Logan tipped his chin to his chest trying not to laugh outright.

K didn't wait for an answer before she headed for the door, sure to give Scott's arm a little squeeze. "Don't go anywhere with anyone but Logan."

"I won't," he promised. "Unless it's you."

She smiled his way and kissed his cheek. "You're a good boy." She dropped her voice down to a whisper. "And an accidentally excellent shot."

"Logan, Scott," Coulson said, totally ignoring the expression on Tony's face as he simply stared around the room, swore and then tried to catch up to K with a shouted out 'wait a minute!'. "You have a couple of options. Short term, of course. But it'd be a jump in the wrong direction while we prep a new spot for more long term arrangements."

The two of them made their way over to Coulson, and what he had up on screen was a spot on the coast in South Carolina and a spot just outside of Chicago. "She's leaving it to you two, but they're both good spots to stay for a few weeks."

Logan turned to Scott and tipped his chin up. "Your call this time. I'm working on the longer term one."

Scott looked surprised before he looked at the two spots Coulson was pointing out. "Well," he said slowly. "Chicago is further north, but I like the fact that it's not on the coast, so we can go in any direction."

"You'll still have coastline," Coulson said. "The spot I have set aside is on the Lake."

Scott frowned at that and shook his head. "Then South Carolina would be better. That many people …"

He nodded at that. "I completely understand," Coulson said. "At least until you get a better handle on everything." He looked between Scott and Logan. "But for the record, we do have an underground facility if you want to attempt to learn how to control … that."

Scott looked toward Logan. "I'm… not so sure," he said slowly.

Coulson smirked a little wider and nodded. "Quartermain had said you might not want to try it, and K never would follow me underground."

"It just doesn't seem like something we could get out of," Scott told him frankly, crossing his arms as he frowned over it. "No offense."

"None taken," Coulson assured him. "I'll get things finalized for South Carolina right now."

Scott nodded and took a step toward Logan. "So when are we leaving?"

"Probably after K gets done informing Stark of how the world works," Logan said under his breath.

Scott nodded. "I'll start packing, then."