Chapter 10 - Is That A Yes?

James and Alyssa's after-Valentines date was a little out of the ordinary for them. So far, they'd been sure to keep their time together private for his sake. Especially since there were always incidents with Superior Rising followers bumping into him with a grin or even just taking his picture from across the street — too afraid to approach. And that was just when the two of them had been meeting up to go ice skating or walking through the woods or to the park. At least while they had the snow and ice, Alyssa didn't seem to mind one bit when he'd ask her to bring herself some coffee or hot chocolate.

Which was that much of a mark of how different it was when he didn't mention anything about warm clothes or hot beverages. He'd gotten practiced at not acknowledging the people watching him from a distance — unless, of course, they didn't seem like teenagers or college kids — and he couldn't help but smile at the positively delighted grin she was wearing when they met up.

"Those flowers…" Alyssa let out a disbelieving sound before she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a hug and an extended 'hello' kiss. "They're gorgeous. And you had my parents in shock, I tell you. My mother was in awe. And my father …" She let out a breathy laugh. "...wanted to know what you did wrong. He's convinced you had another date for Valentines."

James couldn't help himself when he tipped his head at that and made his expression into as close to 'busted' as he could manage. "I did have a blonde hanging off of me half the night. But I don't think it counts as cheating."

For an instant, Alyssa froze and stared at him as he took his cell out of his pocket and smiled crookedly her way as he dug up the picture he'd snapped of Lily half clutched to him in her sleep. "It was her first Valentines in this reality. X-Men problems," James told her. "No one outside of the X-Men and Avengers even knows about her yet. She's my little sister from another dimension. Her name is Lily." He shrugged, obviously trying to ease the shock that was rolling off of her. "It's complicated, but she likes me, for some reason, and it's kinda family policy not to turn down little kids, so … It's gonna happen again, I'm sure."

"I'm going to need that picture," she said finally. "To show my parents … not … not for the website. I'm not putting anything up of anyone not on the team, or not already a known to the public person."

James had to smirk a little wider at that. "I know you won't risk a kid. But sure. If it makes it easier to get out without a hassle, you can show your folks." He took a moment, right on the spot, to text her the picture and then offered her his arm to head back to the Jeep. "So, probably still not a totally 'normal' date," James said slowly.

"I didn't know what you had in mind, so I layered up," Alyssa admitted.

"Thought we'd do something totally weird and try dinner out … movie if we have time," James said, pulling a face that had her grinning.

"Yes. Very, very unorthodox," she agreed, smirking to herself as he put the Jeep into gear, and the two of them chatted all the way to the little Asian fusion place in the city that had a view of the river.

There were a few people who seemed to recognize him when they were close, but being in the city, there were fewer people that were willing to jump to conclusions like their sleepy little corner of Westchester.

But it was the first semi-normal date they'd ever had. And it was the first time that Alyssa had really gotten to do something even comparable to other dates she'd been on before. And it was still a stand out.

James had been steadily coming back to himself, and although he wasn't entirely the same person he'd been when she'd first met him, he was feeling more like himself. Enough so that the smile was back and he wanted to try.

David wasn't too surprised to find Leslie Ann in the greenhouse when it seemed like most of the other mansion residents were outside taking advantage of the late February snowstorm. He could almost always count on finding her where it was warmer, and the greenhouse had been a sanctuary for her ever since they moved to Westchester.

"Doesn't quite feel the same without the gigantic Asgardian thing, does it?" he asked with a little smile to get her attention. She was so wrapped up in the gardenias that he didn't think she would have noticed him otherwise.

She straightened up in an instant and grinned his way. "No, but I think it's probably a better idea to leave it in Chicago. Mary Beth's kids are in love with it."

"Can't disappoint the niece and nephew," David said with a smirk before he had finally crossed the space to where she was so he could wrap her up in a hug and kiss. "You want to go out with me tonight?"

"I thought you were working on that upgrade for the Danger Room."

"I finished it earlier than I thought I would," David admitted with a shrug. "I might have also overestimated the time I thought it would take — you know, just in case I hit a snag in the code."

"And so you look like more of a genius when you do it faster than you said," Leslie Ann teased him.

"Well, a little bit of that," he said with a shrug. "But you still didn't answer my question."

She smiled at him and nodded, stealing a quick kiss. "Alright. What were you thinking?"

"I know you hate the cold, but there's a great place with a view upstate. Sort of a modernized cabin resort… thing." He shrugged. "It's got outlets and internet, so I can't call it camping. But it's a getaway."

"That's a little more than a date," she teased him.

"Call it a late Valentine's celebration, then," he said, smirking at her. "I know you weren't up to much on the day itself."

"Okay," she said, shaking her head at him when he grinned at her and stole another kiss.

"And hey, I think I've worked out the bugs in the system for keeping the plants all …" He gestured around the greenhouse. "There were a few literal bugs too. Took care of those."

She couldn't help but laugh at that. "Oh, you got your hands dirty," she teased him.

"Yep," he said with a serious nod, though he was laughing too. "There's sensors in the dirt to let the system know when certain types of plants need water — you know, so when you're out with the team, you don't have to worry about who's going to water the hydrangeas."

She couldn't help but smile at him, suddenly realizing how much work must have gone into that. He'd have had to know which types of plants would need more or less water — and which ones were in what pots, for that matter. "How long have you been working on this?"

"Oh, hey, once I got the numbers crunching, it was just some basic data gathering," he said, shrugging it off quickly. "But here, let me show you how it works." He took her hand with a smile and guided her over to where there were a few tulip bulbs planted. He gently pushed back some of the dirt until he uncovered a small silverish device and then waved her over. "See? This'll monitor things, and there's a central access panel where you can turn the sensors on and off - like if you want to pick the flowers to use in your class or something."

Leslie Ann couldn't stop smiling as she let him take her through the finer points, the ways that the sensors were calibrated, all of it. Actually, she followed a lot more of it than she had expected to — she supposed spending so much time around David was starting to rub off on her.

But when he went to show her the main terminal, he frowned a bit to himself and shook his head. "No, no, come on. Don't tell me that…" He looked over at Leslie Ann and gestured to part of the wall. "Can you take a look at that panel over there and let me know what you see?"

"What am I looking for?" Leslie Ann asked as she followed his point to the wall and lifted off part of the panel, only to freeze when she found that there was a perfectly circular indentation in part of the wall. It was just big enough to hold something — a little glittering ring in rose gold.

She stared at the ring for a moment and didn't even pick it up — she just turned and almost knocked David backward as she hugged him.

"So… is that a yes?"

"Yes. For sure. Yes, obviously!" Leslie Ann grinned and then pulled him into a solid kiss. "How did you survive asking my dad?"

"Actually, once I said I wanted to marry you, I think he did a full-on about-face," David admitted with a small smile. "He just wanted me to promise I'd take care of you."

"Well, obviously," Leslie Ann said, then kissed him again. "You are too sweet, you know that?"

"Yeah, well, you should try on that ring," he said with a small little smirk.

"Oh. Yeah." Leslie Ann couldn't help grinning and almost skipped a step. When she slipped the ring onto her finger, she could barely keep from laughing before she wrapped David in another kiss. "So, are we really going away upstate?"

"Yeah, that … I was kinda thinking it would be nice to get away if you said yes and, you know, celebrate."

"You're a romantic."

"A little bit," he said, shrugging lightly.

The two of them got wrapped up for a while longer before they finally made their way over to the institute, going in through the kitchen entrance to find Annie treating Lily to some sweets.

Annie smiled their way when she saw them come in holding hands. "You two look cozy."

"We're heading upstate for the weekend," Leslie Ann explained with a smile.

"Is it because you're kissin'?" Lily asked, looking perfectly serious.

"Yes, it is," Leslie Ann said.

Lily tipped her head to her shoulder and had one eye closed as she watched the couple. "Why you gotta leave to do that?"

"We thought we'd get away together just to be alone," David said.

"Why?"

"Well, we want to celebrate," Leslie Ann said with a smile. "David asked me to marry him."

"Like Charlie?"

Leslie Ann nodded and laughed a bit. "Yes, but we're not going to do it so fast. We'll give my family and everyone plenty of time."

"But you're a lot older than she is," Lily pointed out. "You're really, really old."

David snorted but hid it as well as he could as Leslie Ann shook her head. "I'm not that old," she said. "And besides, we don't want to do things exactly like Charlie and Gerry did. We want to do things our own way."

Lily shrugged and reached across the counter to grab a cookie. "Okay. If you say so."

Annie smiled and ruffled Lily's hair before she made it a point to wrap them both up in hugs. "It's about time," she said as she hugged Leslie Ann.

"Thanks, Aunt Annie."

"So, when are you plannin' on gettin' married?"

David and Leslie Ann glanced at each other. "Up to you," David said. "You're the one with the family."

"What if we did it at the end of May?" Leslie Ann asked. "After everyone's done with school - so we can have the whole family together." She smiled as she looped her arm through David's. "And that's when the lilacs are blooming."

"Hey, I'm in favor," David said with a smile.

At that, Annie let out a little laugh. "Great. I'll get started on the planning," she declared. "Leave it to me."

Logan and K had only just gotten back from their impromptu camping trip with the James and Billy from the universe where those two were dating. The two Howletts had immediately disappeared into their room, quietly snickering and laughing between them all the way to clean up enough that they looked like they hadn't been anywhere for such a long stretch, but as soon as they'd washed up and gotten re-dressed, the fun was interrupted by their smallest little ones. The kids didn't know mom and dad had been gone, but they seemed to have sense enough to realize something was a little different - and for that, they decided the best way to cope was to pile on K and snuggle in hard.

Which left Logan to handle bringing up something much more substantial for dinner than the pizza that was planned to compensate for Kate's cooking night. After their time camping, they really didn't feel much like actually being around the crowd, either. Not when so much of that time had been spent not participating in their usual camping fun.

Logan was in high spirits as he headed down to the kitchen to grab a drink before he decided how to spoil his little crew, and he'd barely gotten a glass of water when Leslie Ann came through with a bright smile. "There's a look I haven't seen in too long," Logan commented.

Leslie Ann startled slightly and then regained her smile, picking up her hand to wiggle the fingers there. "Aunt Annie just got finished teasing me about the short courtship," she admitted with a much softer smile.

"Like she's got a lotta room to talk," Logan chuckled. "Can't tell me she didn't dive in head first."

"I was there. She was ready to dive in before he was," Leslie Ann said, smiling wider.

"That is how the story always goes with him involved," Logan said, nodding to himself.

"Actually," Leslie Ann said, pausing and rubbing her arm, "David … surprised me."

"Good. You need surprises."

"Yeah." She let her hand fall away from her arm. "He's … he's been helping me, you know. With all of it."

"Sounds like he's makin' it his job." Logan was smirking crookedly at her. "Smart kid."

"He is," Leslie Ann agreed. "He set up a whole system in my greenhouse and everything."

"So what's the problem, kiddo?" Logan asked as he watched her carefully. "Need me to string him up and work him over?"

"No, no, definitely not," she said quickly, holding up both hands. But when Logan held her gaze, she let out her breath through her cheeks. "I don't know. I don't know if it's a good idea, the more I think about it."

Logan took a few steps to close the gap and took her by her elbow. "C'mon. Let's take a drive. Tell me what you think the trouble is away from nosy Aunts and Uncles and their spies."

"Good point," she said - and smirked when she heard the unmistakable sound of a disappointed bamf.

Logan led the way to the garage, and within a few minutes, they were on the way down the road. He didn't break the silence at first, instead waiting until she settled down and started to relax. "Alright. What's goin' on?"

"I am," Leslie Ann said, looking out the window. "I'm not exactly … on solid ground lately. Better than I was, but maybe we should have a long engagement?"

"Sweetheart, if you wait until you're on solid ground, it'll never happen. Just run with it. Grab a hold of whatever happy you can and run with it."

She bit her lip and nodded, though she was obviously still working something over. "I didn't date for a long time, you know," she said quietly. "I was kind of avoiding the whole idea."

"Yeah, been there, done that," Logan said, matching her volume. "But you got too big of a heart to keep it to yourself."

"That's what my dad says," she said, smiling a bit. "I was surprised he was so okay with the idea."

"I'm not," Logan told her. "He wants you to be happy."

"And I am," she swore.

"Then don't be afraid of it," He said, smiling once again.

Leslie Ann nodded. "I think," she said slowly, "maybe I'm just overthinking it?"

"There's always gonna be something that'll spook you. There's always gonna be some moron tryin' to screw things up - if not for you, then for the team or other people you care about. But if you wanna make the most of whatever time you got? You gotta live it like you're fighting someone that's tryin' to take it all away from you every minute of every day and enjoy it." He nodded to himself. "So yeah, you're definitely overthinkin' it."

"I knew it," she said with a self-deprecating smile. She bit her lip. "For the record, you might wanna tell that to James."

"I have."

"Yeah, I'll bet. It's just… we sort of had the same problem. Apocalypse opened up the night Neil died. It wasn't as recent as Vanessa, but it still feels… feels like it just happened sometimes."

Logan nodded. "Kid got a nasty gut punch for sure," he said. "And it's just one of those wounds that'll never really close up right." He turned toward her for a moment as they hit a stoplight. "I know everyone tries to say it'll back off or go away, but it never leaves you. Not totally. You just gotta keep livin' anyhow."

Leslie Ann's shoulders dropped, and she let out all her breath. "Oh. Good," she breathed out. "I've been feeling like a terrible person thinking about Neil when I'm supposed to be happy."

Logan let out a hollow chuckle. "No. That's just that big heart we were talkin' about. You can't help but feel it anyhow. Even if you think you should be past it. Even if everyone tells you as much … if he meant something to you, it'll always be there in the back of your mind. Trust me. That … is an annoying little rabbit hole you don't wanna fixate on." He glanced at her as they headed down a different road. "If you like, I'm sure James wouldn't mind if if you joined us now and again in the morning."

"Are you sure?" Leslie Ann asked, though Logan could see some of the excitement she used to have when she first joined the team in her eyes.

"It's been helpin' him a lot," Logan said. "And I know he worries about you an' Amadi in particular."

"Yeah, well, I had a hard time getting my handle on reality back," she admitted. "And Amadi was way too young."

"Yeah. He carries a lot of guilt over that one."

"He should talk to Chloe. She's still convinced that the fight me and Amadi had to stop Sinister from taking her put her on the wrong radar. It's a thing."

"They'd just end up arguin' on who was more guilty," Logan said. "Won't help either of 'em."

"True. Last time I started down that way, Thor came to visit," Leslie Ann said. "He still hasn't let me apologize." She peered over at him. "You have that in common."

"Don't know what you're talkin' about."

"Uh-huh. Sure."

Logan smirked to himself. "We're not real social tonight as a group, but if you wanna get away from the overly involved family reaction, you can come up by us." He turned her way. "Open invite, by the by."

"Thanks. I think I might take you up on it," she admitted. "Aunt Annie's going overboard. I think she's trying to make up for Charlie's thing."

"What else is new?" Logan laughed. "Plan on it - I'll make sure we have room for you. It'd get a laugh out of K anyhow."

"Why, because I'm hiding from cake?" Leslie Ann teased.

"Yes," Logan said. "She's in a good mood, anyhow."

"Do I want to know?" Leslie Ann asked.

"It's a long story," he admitted. "But it's good to be home."