Chapter 9 - Valentine's, One Year Later
On Valentine's Day morning, James was still doing his best to stay asleep in his room when there was a familiar bamf, and the bed moved slightly as Kari sat down on the edge of it with two mugs of coffee in hand. She was sure to hold one out to him with a cheerful smile once he peeked an eye open to see what she wanted.
"I thought I'd catch you before anyone else did," she explained as she handed him the coffee.
"Mission accomplished," James said as he took the mug and shifted so he could take a drink. "Thanks. What makes me rate high enough to get Elfish coffee delivery?"
"I wanted to make sure you were alright and offer some help if you needed it," Kari said, watching him carefully over the top of her mug. "It's Valentine's Day, and that can't be easy for you."
He let out a sigh after he took a drink and set the mug on his side table before he curled up on his side. He would have preferred going back flat on his stomach, but that was his attempt at being social. To face her. "I was trying not to think about it, to be honest."
"Yeah." She let out her breath slightly and covered it with a sip.
"I know, I know. Pretty much unavoidable with all of the students jazzed about the romance of the day," James said. "But it doesn't really feel like it's been a year already."
Kari let out a longer breath than before. "I… I wanted to make sure you could spend the day doing whatever you needed to do," she said. "If you want to see her — Vanessa, I mean — I can play interference and make sure you're alone. Or whatever it is you need to do. I'll keep people off your back." She glanced over at him. "I just don't want this day to be harder for you than it has to be."
James sat up to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I don't think it's going to be an issue. I already warned Alyssa that I'm not going anywhere today. Didn't even need to explain why. I'm not really in the mood to crack my carefully crafted poker face either. So." He let out a sigh and then watched her for a moment. "I don't think I need the help though. Not really. I booked the Danger Room. I've got every open space today that's not a class. So I'm gonna hit things. And wreck stuff. If you want to be sure that no one bothers me, though — why don't you take my phone?"
"Are you sure?" she asked. "It sounds like you have a plan."
"My plan is to work myself into the ground today," James said. "The programming won't let me override — and I'm not messing with it. I don't want to punish myself, just … wear myself out."
"Hey, if I was looking at one year after a bunch of horrible, I'd want to hit things too," Kari said with a small smile before she reached past him to grab his phone for herself. "I'll keep people off your back."
He looked over at her with a raised eyebrow look. "Not really possible. The booth will be unlocked. It was Dad's condition for a marathon of trashing things. But it's one of those 'look but don't engage' things."
"He's making sure you're alright."
"He's making sure I'm not doing what he would," James said.
"Yeah, don't do that," Kari agreed with a small smile. "Because I need you around to be my wingman. The art world has some, um, interesting boys — and I need a double date for wingman purposes, okay?"
"That … okay," James said slowly. "One condition if we end up doing that, though. Separate cars."
"I'm alright with that," Kari promised. "I'm not trying to … I know it's hard enough getting back into dating for you. I don't want to make it worse."
"You won't; don't worry about it," James said, though his focus had gone to his hands like it so often did when he tried to talk about anything regarding Apocalypse or Vanessa. "That crash probably wouldn't have happened at all if you'd been there."
Kari bit her lip and looked his way. "I ... I'm not sure what to say to that."
"You don't have to say anything. I know when I'm right."
She shook her head and hid her expression in her coffee mug, though she was pleased to hear the hidden praise. "It's been a year, James. And you're a lot better now. I hope you know — I can see how much you've improved and gotten it back."
He leaned forward just a bit. "Kari. I was a puddle last year. It's not hard to improve on that."
"I know. I'm just… trying to help," she said.
He lifted his mug. "Coffee always works better than a pep talk. Even if it doesn't do anything for me anymore."
"Yeah, something warm in the morning is always good," she said with a smile. "And I did mean it — I really want you as my wingman. It's harder to know what I'm in for on first dates with guys I meet at art showings."
"Well," James said with a nod, "we'll need a system. A simple code that's hard to misinterpret. Like …: He looked thoughtful for a moment as if he was truly weighing it out, then snapped his fingers. "Got it. If I stab him in the face … he's a jackass."
"I don't know; that might be too subtle," Kari laughed.
"You're right. I'll go for the nethers."
Kari grinned and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "And this is why I love you," she said with a smile. "Always looking out for me."
"That's my job, right?" James said.
"And you do it so well," she said before she got to her feet and waved at him with his phone in hand. "Have fun in the Danger Room."
"When you check in, put in a new program," James said. "Pick something interesting." He tipped his head her way. "I already know Scott will ask everyone to poke their heads in, so..."
"I'll find something that you will know is from me," she said with a smirk, her tail swaying easily behind her. "Something with a view."
"Perfect," James agreed before he finished off his mug and pulled the blanket up to his shoulders as he rolled onto his stomach to sleep a little while longer. Yes, he was trying, but it was still hard to get out of bed when there was that much weighing over his head.
Leslie Ann had been awake for a while, but she wasn't out of bed yet. However, David was and he had already gotten up to shower and get ready for the day while Leslie Ann was just… tending to the orchid beside her on the nightstand. When David was done and decided enough was enough, he took her down to breakfast — with the threat to carry her if he had to.
Which was enough to get a little smirk out of her anyway.
When they got downstairs, Leslie Ann wasn't surprised to find that her Aunt Annie was elbow-deep in making all kinds of sweets.
"Can I help?" Leslie Ann asked before she had even really thought it through.
Annie glanced over her shoulder and smiled warmly. "I've already got a few cookies ready for frosting if you want to get started," she said, gesturing to the pan that was still cooling down nearby. "We can do chocolate molds later."
"I know better than to get in the middle of that," David said with a little smirk before he stole a quick kiss and slipped out as Leslie Ann started working on the icing.
Annie couldn't help but smile to herself as she sat down at the table to start icing cookies with her niece. "He's a smart boy," Annie said with a smile.
"Yeah, he is," Leslie Ann agreed as she mixed some of the dye to get just the right shade of pink. Incidentally, it was the same shade that her cheeks were at just that moment.
Annie smirked as she mixed up some red icing, doing her best to sound nonchalant. "I hope you've noticed a bit more than his intelligence," she said.
Leslie Ann shook her head at her aunt. "Aunt Annie, are you … checking up on me?"
"Just wondering how serious things are going with my sweet little niece," Annie said, resting her hand on Leslie Ann's arm.
"He's…"
"Well, if he's so very much that, then I can see why you like him," Annie teased.
Leslie Ann couldn't help but giggle. "I do like him," she said.
"I'd hope so," Annie said. "I'd hate for any niece of mine to stick around with a boy she didn't like."
Leslie Ann couldn't help but shake her head at that. "Aunt Annie…"
Annie held up her hand. "I'm teasing you a bit. But I really do want to make sure you're alright."
"I'm alright," she promised as she finished icing the first pan of cookies.
"Yes, but are you happy?"
Leslie Ann smiled lightly as she looked up at Annie. "I am," she said. "Really. I didn't think I could be after, well, after what happened. But… but having someone there when I wake up not knowing who I am… it helps. A lot."
Annie smiled to herself and went back to coloring a bowl full of icing. "That's all I want to know. And of course … if you want to make anything special for later…."
Leslie Ann let out a surprised sort of laugh as she reached over to hit Annie's arm. "Are you kidding me? We've only been together a few months," she laughed. "And several of those were spent just trying to get past what happened with Apocalypse."
"Yes, I did notice that you seem to do better when you're with him," Annie said with a smile. "And not just in the mornings."
"Well, he… he's been good. Distracting," Leslie Ann said. "He knows more about technology than I could ever keep track of, and he gets so wrapped up talking about his projects."
"Is that all? A distraction?" Annie asked with an eyebrow raised.
"No, no…" Leslie Ann shook her head quickly. "I just meant that he … when I'm feeling anxious, he'll just sit with me and talk about his websites and projects, and it's kind of… soothing." She blushed and looked down again. "That sounds ridiculous. I can't even follow it half the time, but it's calming, if that makes sense."
Annie couldn't stop smiling. "Of course it does," she said. "When you're with someone you love, everything makes sense."
"It does, doesn't it?" Leslie Ann said, which only got a brighter smile out of Annie.
On Valentine's morning, Sying woke up with Ariel, deciding to let Krissy sleep in a little more. Of course, she woke up not soon after when she heard the giggling from the other room as Ariel got hold of Sying's nose and cheek and laughed herself silly.
Krissy couldn't help but smile at the scene as she came to sit down beside Sying and kissed him. "How are my two favorite people doing?" she asked.
"Wearing herself out," Sying said, tipping his head toward Ariel with a smile.
Krissy smiled and held her hands out to Ariel to snatch her up, snuggling her before she sat down to feed her. And like Sying had said, she was getting tired again, drifting back off nearly to sleep after having spent most of the early morning up and playing with her dad.
Krissy sat back with the little girl in her arms, watching as Ariel pulled her tail into her mouth and started gumming it happily. "You got her all keyed up," she teased Sying when he came to sit down beside her.
"She's the one who thought my nose was hilarious," Sying defended, leaning over to kiss both of them on the cheek. But when it was obvious that Ariel still wasn't quite settling down to sleep despite how tired she was, he started to hum lightly.
Ariel's ears perked up immediately, and she stopped wrestling her tail to look up at Sying with wide eyes, which had both of her parents smiling to themselves.
"Found Dad," Krissy teased Sying in a whisper as Ariel simply locked her gaze onto him, still staring.
Sying smirked and kept humming until Krissy gently handed Ariel off to him, and he retucked her. He was still humming along to the verses, but by the time he got to the chorus, and Ariel was completely entranced, he started singing quietly. "And you can tell everybody this is your song. It may be quite simple, but now that it's done, I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words how wonderful life is while you're in the world."
Ariel kept staring all the way through the song, and Sying kept on singing, too. Not exactly traditional lullabies, but it seemed that Ariel simply couldn't get enough of them until she finally curled up contentedly and let out a little sigh, burying her nose in her dad's shirt.
Sying and Krissy watched and waited for a while longer to be sure that she was really out before Krissy leaned over and kissed Sying's cheek. "She loves you. You know that, right?"
Sying couldn't help but smile before he kissed her right back. "Yeah, I think I got the message," he said.
"And you know I love you too, right?"
"I may have heard you mention it in passing," he said with a smirk.
She rolled her eyes at him and then stole another kiss. "Come on, Elton, let's get some breakfast while your music-loving little girl is out," she said.
On the other side of the country, in LA, a lot of the kids who weren't wrapped up in romances had decided to make the holiday a day at the beach. Sand, surf, tide pools, the works.
Amadi already had a few people check on her — Valentines was also the anniversary of the day Apocalypse showed up and made everything horrible for her too, after all — but honestly, she was doing okay. Her dad's outlook helped significantly, of course. But even just seeing the ocean and the clouds so… peaceful. That was helping too.
But the peaceful quiet she'd been enjoying out on the fringes of the partying only lasted until someone noticed her out there — and it was Bashir Morales who ended up bouncing over to her with a starfish in hand.
"There's a million of these in that tidepool over there," he said with a huge grin as he held it out for her to take, and she had to cup her hands to hold the bristly creature. "I think they washed up in that last thunderstorm. Pretty cool, right?"
Amadi couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. "That's probably what happened," she agreed.
"Well, there's a bunch of them. Nadiya is on a mission to save them all and put them back in the ocean — you want to help?" Bashir asked, grinning a little wider.
"Oh, if it's a mission of mercy," Amadi teased.
Bashir grinned. "Well, you know my little sister. She wants to save the world."
"It's probably a family trait," Amadi teased.
"One starfish at a time. That's our motto," Bashir laughed before he simply grabbed Amadi's hand to take her over to where little Nadiya was very carefully scooping up starfish to put them in her sand bucket, which was filled with ocean water. One at a time, Nadiya would carry the starfish to the ocean and crouch down, gently tipping the bucket out to let the starfish down.
"I told you — she's on a mission," Bashir said, grinning.
Amadi couldn't help but smile as she crouched down beside the little girl. "Would you like some help?"
Nadiya smiled up at her. "You have to be very careful," she instructed Amadi.
"I'll be gentle," she promised.
"Amadi's probably just as good at this as you are," Bashir assured his sister. "She'll take care of them."
"Not if she hasn't done it before," Nadiya said before she stuck her tongue out at her brother.
Bashir laughed before he picked her up and put her on his shoulders. "You're just… so right. Princess of the Starfish," he declared.
"Don't forget it!" she called out then grabbed onto his head to keep her balance.
Bashir laughed brightly, the sound of his laughter just as infectious as his father's. "Race you to the tidal pool!" he called over his shoulder to Amadi.
"That's a race you'll lose," Amadi said with a grin before she simply lifted off of the ground to fly over.
"Oh, she is so cheating," Bashir said, even though he did the same thing — by using the powers he shared with his mother and using impossibly long legs to take bigger strides.
Kari still had James' phone with her after she'd headed to the Danger Room to mess with the settings and send him to a beautifully scenic place in Japan. Cherry blossoms, ninjas, everything a Howlett could want.
She was pretty pleased with herself at the grin he'd given her when she pulled that.
She couldn't help but wonder if Alyssa knew to do things like that.
Not that she was jealous. Well, that wasn't entirely true. She was. But she was trying hard not to be.
Still, she couldn't quite contain her curiosity, and she did have James' phone. So…after fiddling with it for as long as she could manage, she glanced at the bamf on her shoulder that was nodding and the bamf on her other shoulder … who at first shook his head sternly, then broke into a smile and nodded along as well. The decision was made to the delighted cackle of her two best bamf friends.
"Hello?" Alyssa said on the other end when Kari called her up. "Are you okay? I thought you were taking the day off today."
"Hi," Kari said, though she couldn't stop the smile as she heard the honest concern in Alyssa's voice. "Sorry, not James. Hello. I don't mean to alarm you, but I wanted to say um … hi, I'm Kari."
"Oh! Hi! Um … what … what's going on? Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine," Kari said. "I ... I actually just wanted to talk. To you." She brushed her hand through her hair as the bamfs giggled at her discomfort. "James is my best friend, and I've never gotten to meet you yet, so this is sort of the… 'what are your intentions' talk, I suppose."
"O… kay," she said, a bit drawn out. "Um … we haven't gone out too many times yet …"
"I know," Kari said quickly. "I just want to make sure ... it's just that he's been through a lot, and I've seen several of my friends make bad decisions when they're hurting." She quickly added, "I'm not saying that's the case. Not … I don't think you're a bad decision, I'm just trying to give you background for why I wanted to make sure… you know. That he's alright."
"He seems alright," Alyssa said. "He's been very nice. And considerate, and kind … a perfect gentleman...and really, we're just … sort of getting to know each other, still. So I don't know … what I can tell you about intentions."
"That's fine," Kari said quickly. "I just… I don't know much about you. He's always been quiet about the girls he's dated, but he's been more quiet since … well. I just don't know enough yet. And he's my best friend."
"Oh, okay, well … I'm not usually the one getting asked, but … whatever you want to know."
"I just… I guess I just want to know that he's safe with you," Kari said, though she sat down with the phone and tried to relax. "So… let's get to know each other."
"Yeah, of course," Alyssa said, sounding more than happy to assist her.
Kari smiled at that and leaned back. This was going to take a bit, but… she knew she had to do it. She wouldn't be able to sit still until she knew James was in good hands.
The afternoon party for the holiday had been amazingly sweet. Billy and Teddy stayed close — it was their anniversary after all, but they had a shared daughter to show the meaning of the holiday to, and it was an interesting family dynamic to say the least.
K and Logan were curled up together with John nearby. The little guy was thoroughly examining a white-frosted cupcake with pink and red sprinkles and had apparently come to the conclusion that something was wrong, since he scrunched up his little nose and pushed it away with one finger.
"I thought birthdays were only one time a year," Lily said as she sat between K and Billy.
"They are, sweetheart. This is Valentines," K said before she rested her hand on Lily's head.
"What's that?" she asked, one eye closed as she pulled a spectacular face.
"It's the day everyone celebrates Billy and Teddy's anniversary," Logan rumbled with a smirk that got a grin from the couple.
"It's a day to celebrate those you love," K corrected. "And Billy and Teddy's anniversary."
Lily nodded slowly and then climbed down out of her chair to where John was trying to push the cupcake off of the edge of the table with one finger, even though he clearly hadn't thought it out very well when he'd pushed it away initially. She took his cupcake and tried to give it back to him, but John started shaking his head hard enough to rock his entire body back and forth as he drew out a long 'No-o-o-o'.
"Why don't he wanna cupcake?" Lily asked with a deeply set frown that showed too much of her father for anyone's liking.
"He doesn't like sweet things very much," Logan told her before Lily put her hands on her hips and let out a huff that blew a strand of blonde hair out of her face. She rolled her eyes at the insanity of it and then marched over to where Annie had a whole stack of sweets. She picked up a few different cookies, some chocolates … a little bit of everything … and took them all back to John, patiently explaining to him how he was missing out. She finally let out a dramatic sigh of relief when John showed some interest in one of the sugar cookies, but that was short-lived when he quickly abandoned it in favor of his juice cup. With her arms crossed, she got up once again and glared at the cupcakes until she found one she liked best, then sat across the table from the grown ups just staring at the cupcake.
"What are you doing, sweetheart?" Teddy asked when he saw the determined look on her face.
"I'm savin' this one for someone that needs it," she said before she crossed her arms carefully — like she'd been watching K do. But she refused to elaborate on who it was for.
Eventually, the action had died down a bit, and the other little kids went off to watch a movie, but still, Lily waited.
The two sets of parents shared a little look, wondering between themselves what she was up to — until James came in from all of the Danger Room time he'd been logging in. She hopped off of her chair and stood in his path, holding the little cupcake and wearing a determined look. "I gotted this for you 'cause mama says today is for people you love."
For an instant, James' obvious sorrow showed, but only an instant. He knelt down so he could be on her level and did his best to put on a smile, though it clearly didn't reach is eyes. He took the cupcake in one hand and gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead before he picked her up. "Love you too, Lil," James said with the little girl hugging him on one side and the cupcake in his free hand. "Wanna split it with me? Be my Valentine?"
She grinned up at him and nodded her head. "Uh-huh," she said, still grinning.
James looked over to his parents and Billy and Teddy. "Is it alright if I give her a little bit more sugar and take her to the movie room? I thought I heard them starting up Charlie Brown."
K and Logan were smirking his way already, perfectly pleased with James' reaction. Billy and Teddy both quickly agreed, too, with Teddy shooing them to go. Lily looked delighted, and the two of them headed off, with Lily talking up a blue streak about how silly John was about eating his sugar 'like a good kid' while Logan and K put their heads together.
As soon as the door was closed, Teddy broke into a huge grin and kissed Billy's cheek. "I think we did good with that one," he said. "She's definitely got the true meaning of the day down."
Billy couldn't help but laugh and nod his agreement. "Learned from the best," he said. "And I think I approve of her Valentine choice."
"Oh, absolutely," Teddy said. "Also something she learned from her dad. I have good taste too."
Billy smirked at that and stole a long kiss. "Yes. Yes you do."
Of course, James wasn't clueless. New relationship or old, he knew that the day was supposed to leave a statement of sorts, and he also knew that, because of his clearances and the fact that he wasn't able to get out, he was already at a disadvantage to make the right impression with Alyssa. She was a sweet girl, and he genuinely enjoyed being with her. Especially once she relaxed a little bit. She was fun. And cute. So he knew he couldn't let the day pass, even if the thought of the holiday — and the anniversary of Vanessa's death — had him on the edge of a panic attack. Not that he was saying anything to anyone, or that he needed to.
But … he also wasn't going to let Alyssa think he was blowing her off. Which is why he'd made sure that she'd gotten her gift even if she didn't get her date.
The trouble, of course, was that most every single florist was pushing red roses — and he did not want to send a message that didn't line up with how he felt about things or, worse, came off like every single last-minute Romeo on the planet. So it had taken him some time to find one that had something appropriate.
He wasn't sure how in depth Alyssa would get, or if she was the kind of girl that would dig into the meanings of flowers, but considering that his father had made him learn that sort of thing one summer when he made the mistake of saying he was bored … James thought he'd apply that odd bit of knowledge. He felt pretty good about his hidden message when he had the tiny florist in town make up a bouquet of pink hydrangeas, tulips, and pink and white roses with cherry blossoms.
Instead of a deep passionate love as the traditional red roses conveyed… this was a much more concise message, if anyone paid attention. The hydrangea was for heartfelt gratitude, the roses for purity and sweetness, the tulips meant that he cared, and the cherry blossoms were for beauty and renewal. It was, he thought, a lot more sincere and appropriate for a newer, blooming relationship than a dozen red roses. And it was also a complete acknowledgement of everything that he'd been working to get back to in the past year.
But typical of himself, he'd also asked that it not be delivered until later in the day, too. Just so she could think he was blowing her off. And to let her know when they showed up that he truly did care.
So as it turned out, James was with the little kids, and Lily had claimed him as her personal furniture for the movie, when Alyssa's flowers were delivered. He didn't know for sure what her reaction was, since Kari had his phone, but … he couldn't have responded anyhow while Lily was leaning on him and trying to feed him candy — even going so far as to force it into his mouth with an incredible look of concentration on her face until he did what she wanted and then waited to make sure he didn't spit it out. At least until he pulled her into a hug and tickled her into settling down and finishing Charlie Brown's Valentine.
It wasn't until the movie was over that Kari teleported in. Her pink smoke swirled around her as she sat down with a smile and held up James' phone. "So, I meant to catch you when you were out of the Danger Room, but I ended up talking with Alyssa. And not only do I approve? But also? You should know that the inhuman squeal when the flowers got to her house may have broken the sound barrier. In case you wanted to know how that went." She handed the phone to him and kissed his cheek. "You are so. Sweet."
"Am not," he argued before he took a moment to scroll his missed messages and fiddle with his phone. "Just did what felt right." He paused for a moment and peeked down at Lily, who was lightly sleeping. "So, does that mean you two are seeing eye to eye?"
"It means I'm convinced my best friend isn't going to get his heart broken. I actually like her," Kari said.
"For the record, it's never my intention to get heartbroken. And I hope it's not your intention either. Especially since I'll have to kill whoever would be that dumb."
Kari couldn't help but smile at him. "You take such good care of me."
"Says the girl that interrogated Alyssa." James gave her a little smirk. "Looks like a two-way street to me."
Kari flushed purple before she kissed his cheek. "Love you too," she said before she climbed onto the couch beside him and flipped the TV to a different movie.
"I think Lily's staked her claim," James said after a while, glancing down at the little blonde.
"Probably," Kari said with a smile. "Not that you mind."
"Had no choice," he said. "She gave me a cupcake. Wanted to spend time."
"It's her first Valentine's Day, right? Seems like the perfect way to spend it to me."
James shook his head. "This better not be a trend when she gets older. Much. Older. Boys."
"Well, consider her parents," Kari pointed out with a smile. "You're screwed."
"I suppose," James agreed. "Want to help me get her upstairs? I'm surprised she went to sleep with all the sugar she was eating."
"She had the best teddy bear in the world, though," Kari teased lightly before she put a hand on James' shoulder and teleported all three of them up to Lily's room. She watched as James rearranged Lily so that she was comfortable and couldn't quite stop her smile. "You really are so good with her."
"I've had some practice," James pointed out.
"Yeah, but she came from a world full of fear, and now she's getting sugar highs and snuggling her family?" Kari gestured to Lily. "Kind of impressive."
"Probably because she's got four parents," James said, closing the door behind them. "That's gotta help."
"Probably," Kari said, then smiled at him and squeezed his arm. "So. How you holding up? Danger Room and Lily snuggles helping?"
"And half a pound of sugar and chocolate. You missed that part," James said.
"You ate sugar and chocolate?" Kari asked, dramatically turning his way with her hand over her heart.
He had to smirk at her, his expression almost apologetic. "Lily was pretty insistent that she share everything with her 'Valentine'. To the point of shoving it in my face."
Kari grinned, leaned forward, and kissed his cheek. "That's your weakness. You're a sucker for a pretty face."
"Genetic," he said easily.
"Oh so very," she agreed with a little laugh.
"I'm alright," he said, finally answering her question. "I think."
"Good," she said. "But if you ever stop being alright, you know where to find me."
"I don't know about that; you'll probably be harder to find what with the poofing around and all that."
She tapped him on the nose. "What good is it to have enhanced senses if you can't find pink smoke a mile away?" she teased.
"Not real useful when the smoke more or less smells the same and there are so many elves and little demons."
"You're just making up excuses," she teased.
"I don't know. I don't think they're going to quit 'porting around me on purpose to screw with me until I go away."
"Well, then they're going to be doing that for forever, aren't they?" Kari said, perfectly matter-of-fact.
"Yeah, right. We'll see how that works out," James said, shaking his head.
Kari rolled her eyes at him and then grabbed him by the shoulders to pull him into a solid hug. "Do. Not. Go. Anywhere," she said, pulling him tighter with every word. "I care about you too much to lose you again, okay?"
"What if I have to?" James asked, entirely to be contrary. "Might need to make up the damage I did to Stark and stay there for a while." He tipped his head. "I … know I do. Actually."
Kari pulled back to glare at him for a moment. "Shut up, James," she said before she went back to hugging the stuffing out of him.
Author's notes: There may be a small break in this one going out. We've been dragging our feet in putting this up as quickly as some of the others before it came out simply because there is a crossover looming and we don't want to jump the gun on that just yet. Once we get things arranged in our 'Billyverse' (see 'What Billy Saw' for details) we'll get back to something like a regular publishing schedule. Probably. Maybe. We'll see.