A/N - Practically An Avenger - there is so much I want to address, but alas ... it might wreck things. BUT ... fear not. Apologies like James had to do are apologies best kept behind closed doors in privacy. On your scale of 1-100, that had to score about a 500, but not to keep from being wished from existence. I don't think he'd do that to him. He's definitely too cute. As far as Tyler waking up from a James kiss ... that ... is something Tyler has to deal with. I cannot answer all of your questions as some of them will be answered in time. (seriously, this is written waaaaay ahead) But you have amazing questions that get us talking, so please, keep them coming! ((and for the record, in my head, Viper and Red Skull have a daughter in this universe named Katarina. If we see her or not ... I cannot say. But because of immeasurable dickishness, Red Skull is not allowed to have a son. Ever.))

Chapter 53 - Keeping Secrets

The soldiers that Billy had sent to the prisons of Genosha had been far more loose-lipped once Erik and his men got started on ferreting out their secrets - and when Erik heard that the men had been given orders initially to only grab James and Rachel, Erik hadn't been surprised in the least.

However … it seemed that their superiors figured out quickly enough who William and Thomas were after seeing what they could do with the team - and the twins were now close to the top of several secret government agencies watch lists. If it wasn't so damned dangerous for them, Erik would have been proud to hear it. But it posed a nasty problem that Erik needed to attend to sooner than later.

He needed his grandsons safe sooner than later by any means necessary, which meant he needed them home. And Erik was very sure he knew how to get at least one of his grandsons to turn his back on the world at large. He simply needed to approach things properly and use the proper bait.

He waited until he knew that the boy would be alone before he made his appearance. He was far more gentle this time when he peeled open the metal surrounding the windows of the high rise lab overlooking the city. As before, papers swirled and plants swayed in the wind until Erik re-sealed the glass magnetically, then barred the door so their conversation could be mostly private.

Mostly because young James Howlett was rarely alone these days as he worked in the admittedly impressive lab. Erik touched down and looped the end of his cape over his arm as he walked toward him. "Mr. Howlett," Erik said with a clearly put on smile. "I wonder if you might have a moment for a civil conversation."

James had sworn to himself when the wall cracked open, and then steadfastly went back to work, determined to ignore Magneto for as long as possible. "I'm not thoroughly convinced that any conversation that starts with someone removing my windows could be civil," James said. "But I suppose since you're already here .."

Erik did his best to keep his relaxed stance. "Yes, well, you'll forgive my entrance. I wanted to be sure I could speak to you one on one."

James looked up at him from the other side of his bench, barely slowing down as he kept working. "Must be something big if you want to talk to me this badly. I know you've got other, more conventional means of having a conversation."

"Yes, all of which would leave me without a reasonable way to see your reactions and leave you without the ability to know that I was telling you the truth."

James stopped what he was doing since he'd been pretty sure from the start that Magneto couldn't have cared less if James knew he was lying or not. "Alright," he said slowly.

Erik made his way over to the bench with a politically pleasant smile. "As I understand it, you had a rather rough mission recently." James didn't reply more than to nod his head in agreement, even if he knew there was no way Erik gave a damn about how rough he'd had things. "The soldiers that William sent were woefully uninformed of what they were walking into - both when facing your team and when they arrived in my prison."

"Can't say that I'll weep over them," James said, which was the right angle to take, since Erik seemed pleased to hear it from him.

"Good," Erik said warmly. "I was afraid you might have been under the influence of the Avengers for long enough that you might not recognize real justice when it presented itself."

James met Erik's gaze. "They tried to kill my team and they did kill the bait they'd used to get us there. They don't deserve pity."

Erik's smile widened slightly as he rested both hands on the bench, palms down. "James, my boy," Erik said warmly, though it sent a chill down James' neck. "The information I extracted from those soldiers will be on Ms. Munroe's desk tomorrow morning, but I could not wait for her to sit through it and come to her conclusions before I spoke with you about it."

"You know I'm not the team leader, right?" James asked, though he really didn't want Rachel to be forced to deal with whatever this was.

"Yes, I know," Erik said, smiling warmer. "But this isn't necessarily a team concern. This is about my grandson." As Erik expected, James had far to go in learning how to control his expressions, and it was clear in a heartbeat that James was alarmed to hear that any group might know something about Billy. "I know that you would go to extreme lengths to keep him safe, but he's not the only one I need to watch out for."

"If you think I'd let anything happen to Tommy either -"

"No, no, not Thomas. I know you'd do all you could to keep William's circle protected. And so will I," he said, holding James' gaze for emphasis. "Though I never would have seen it coming, for now, William has chosen you to stay at his side as his companion, and because of that, I would be remiss to ignore the tremendous target that you were born with."

"It never concerned you before," James said, not trusting for a second whatever angle this was. It also didn't miss his notice the wording Erik had obviously carefully chosen.

"That's simply not true, James," Erik replied in a rich tone, but his scent didn't exactly line up with a full truth.

"Still … new concerns and all … I'm fine."

"Yes, I'm sure. You're simply lucky that you have such protective friends. But … I should have been more clear years ago when I offered your father a spot on Genosha. All of you children would be far safer there away from these weapons programs that I can promise you - will not back down. For your own sake - and for my grandsons- see the sense in what I am offering."

"To be fair, we're not sure what they'd want any of us for," James pointed out. "But I do agree they are a threat."

"Ah. Well. I'm sure the Avengers are simply trying to shelter you from what those programs would like to do. It's all laid out, my boy. All they need is the mutant to fill the position." He produced a small tablet from under his cape and gingerly handed it to James - already keyed up with the scanned files that Erik had retrieved on what exactly several programs had in mind for him, personally. "At the rate you're all going, this is just a matter of time."

James glanced up at him, and on Erik's prompting, he started scrolling through the intel that he had - for the first time seeing the unfiltered version rather than that which Natasha had already okayed. And the details on what they had in mind was precise, down to a chart that they'd devised to guess with stunning accuracy how much James weighed now … and how much to dose him with to subdue him. From there, the details showed the kinds of controls and plans they had in mind for him. "What … what do you want?"

"To offer you safe haven."

James forced himself to look up from the tablet, the meaning behind what Erik was offering just starting to truly sink in. "You want us to go to Genosha to stay?"

"Yes," Erik said, sounding perfectly reasonable and relieved. "That is exactly what I'd like to see happen."

"All of us."

"Of course."

"But not Kate."

Erik blinked for a moment. He had expected James to be more single focused - like his father. Had that been the case, using Billy or his family as the carrot should have been more than enough. "I was more concerned with your family rather than loose friends."

"Kate is my family," James said. "We grew up together. She and Nate have been head over heels for each other for years. She's as much a part of the Summers family as I am. If she's not safe too, it's not an option." When it looked like Erik didn't know how to respond, James hit him with something he really wasn't expecting. "Besides, she's one of Billy's best friends. Honestly both Kate and America. Neither of them would be welcome in Genosha and that would be gutting Billy's circle of friends."

"You're missing the big picture, young man. You are without your primary defenses. Your claws are gone-"

"I didn't tell you that," James said, but Erik didn't slow down, and he didn't even indicate that he'd heard James as he cut across him.

"-you cannot expect to be of any use in protecting William if you can't even protect yourself! I will make concessions to keep you safe for his sake, but when I do, you will learn quickly to do as I say."

Erik had started to levitate, but James remained calm. "I think I do just fine protecting myself," James said. "The comms and panic buttons the team uses - the ones integrated into the uniforms … that was my work. Same with my brother's weapons."

"Perhaps I'm not being as clear as I should be to one who is supposed to be a genius. I've shown you what they have in store for you, but you're too stubborn to see how that could be advantageous to me as much as it would be to them. I'm trying to allow you to choose for yourself, but if they were to pick you up … instead of intervening, if I were to simply wait and allow them to proceed, it won't be them you'll have to serve. I will use that metal against you once it has replaced your bones. I know you're smart enough to know how this will eventually play out. But for now … I'll have to make do."

James was holding Erik's gaze when Erik held his hands out and then frowned to himself when nothing happened.

James however, tipped his chin up and put his hands in his front pockets as he watched Erik search out whatever metal he could find, but instead of challenging him in a manner that Erik was accustomed to, James took a different route entirely and gestured to the lab around them. "I'm an inventor. That is what I do, as I'm sure you already know," James said. "You didn't get a very good look at my lab the last time you stopped in. But since you want to discuss taking me out of here, feel free to take a look around. You did ask me where your labs were lacking on Genosha, and I regret to inform you that there isn't a lab in the world that will measure up to what I have here."

Erik was frowning deeper as he actively searched with his powers to try and isolate some metal - any metal - while he walked through the lab - at least until he saw the Iron Man armor James had laid out on a work bench and realized he couldn't move it. At all. In fact. The only bit of metal Erik found in the lab was a small piece of titanium that was part of a larger device on James' desk. Erik blinked to himself and then turned where he stood taking in the details he'd missed in his anger. On nearly every work bench were pieces of Avenger's uniforms and gadgets in various stages of completion. Falcon's wings were spread out on one bench with little more than an access panel to be closed - Stark's armor was the most involved with several circuit boards exposed, but Wasp's wings, belt, and helmet were complete and displayed on a model waiting to be used. And none of it contained anything that Erik could manipulate.

"I've made some improvements since you trashed the place," James said as he held Erik's gaze unblinking. "I do not want or need anything to do with adamantium in or around my body. Regardless of what anyone has planned for me."

But that had Erik turning on him, fuming far worse than James had seen before, practically growling when he spoke through gritted teeth. "You're giving the Avengers weapons to use against me?"

James stood his ground as Erik floated closer. "No. I'm giving them the means to be safe. The Avengers are my family, too. I'm pretty damn lucky to be able to say that Iron Man and Captain America are my uncles. They both taught me right from wrong alongside my dad, but don't for one second think that I'm turning my back on mutants."

"You are if you're arming Avengers to fight me," Erik said. "You should be standing with your own kind! Instead, you're choosing your own extinction."

"That's exactly the kind of talk I never thought I'd hear from a holocaust survivor," James said, though he'd have been lying through his teeth if he'd told anyone he wasn't scared of what Magneto might do in that moment. "You could unite everyone, but that isn't what you want. You just want to have the same power to use over others that was once used against you." The doors to the lab rattled, but James didn't look toward them. "Go ahead. You have a choice: you can pull the metal out of the locks in the door, or the structure of the building. I know I can't keep it away from you entirely. But if you do that, you will let them in. Or, you can say whatever it is you really want to say to me where no one will ever hear you. I won't tell anyone. Even Billy. So please, if you have something to say, or a specific threat to make - go ahead. I'll keep it between us."

Erik considered him as the pounding at the door continued. "The only thing keeping me from killing you now is my grandson," Erik said in an icy tone. "The moment he decides he's had enough of the novelty, I will personally make sure you regret every choice you've made in your soon to be very short life."

"But I'm the animal. For Billy's sake and yours, I hope your last days are happy and surrounded by family. I have no desire to see anything bad happen to you," James replied. "But in the event that things do end between Billy and I - when you come for me, you better bring back up, because I'll be ready for you and I won't make it easy. Even for an old man."

Erik sneered and turned to leave. "This isn't a game, young man. You cannot win simply by defending and hiding. The rules of engagement are not the same in life as they are a chess board."

"No, they're not," James agreed as Erik reached the windows. "But in this, you're the white on the board. There doesn't have to be a game at all if you don't start the attack." When Erik turned with a bemused look, James continued. "Believe it or not, I admire what you've done with Genosha. It was probably the right call at the time, but now? The professor's dream is the right call, and we all have agreed to fight for that."

For a moment, Erik held his gaze thoughtfully, then turned, once again removing the windows by the metal seals so he could exit the way he'd arrived. Though instead of replacing them as he'd done before, he slammed them back into place, shattering them and leaving James with a mess of broken glass and twisted window frames a moment before the doors unlocked.

Tony, Rachel, and America tumbled in ready to fight, but by then, James was already reaching for a broom to start sweeping glass. "I'm fine, thanks," James said. "Sorry for the mess. I guess I need windows again."

"And to move your equipment again," Tony said. "Is this going to be a recurring problem?"

James shrugged. "The way it's going? Probably."

"What did he say?" Rachel asked, watching James closely.

"Nothing special," James replied. "It was a direct approach with a buy line of 'move to Genosha now - or else'."

"I take it you said 'no'," Tony said, frowning at the hole in the wall.

"What on Earth would make you say that?" James said dryly before he sighed heavily. "Of course I said no. I didn't give him the why. Not his business unless things get more serious with Billy, and then it's going to be a matter of what Billy wants to tell him."

"Which right now probably means everything," Rachel said as she reached out to brush James' mind. She was wildly curious about what he was thinking and what had been said. But as had been the case lately, she was met with a brick wall that seemed sturdier now than it had been before, which meant that not only was he blocking her out naturally, he was actively blocking her, even after she'd made an incredibly iron-clad argument for him to open up to her. So she knew that whatever had been said had to have been bad. "James -"

"I'm fine, Rach," James said, one hand over his heart as he forced himself to relax. "Honestly."

"You're a terrible liar," America said.

"Thanks for that. Love you too, Chavez," James replied.

"Just keeping you in check," America replied with a smirk, though she was looking around the room, too.

"Did he take anything?" Tony asked when it seemed most of the room was in order.

"He's not a thief," James said. "But no. If he couldn't pick it up and carry it without having to hold it, he wouldn't likely be interested. And he couldn't pick up much here." James thought about it for a moment, and pointedly looked toward the tablet Magneto had left behind. "He gave me something actually."

"And?"

"He's a little in his feelings because I'm giving you guys non-metallic components. Accused me of making weapons when clearly - that's not the case yet. But if I'm going to be accused of it ..."

"I told you I could finish it in my lab," Tony said, but James shook his head.

"My idea, my project - all the materials and components were here. I didn't have a reason to think he'd be that touchy about my projects in my lab, and even if I thought he might, it's my lab, not his," James said. "It's fine, he is just under the delusion that … well, I'm not sure what. There was a lot of delusion going on. I'm not going to compartmentalize it."

Tony took a moment to stop James from what he was doing, then pulled the kid over into a tight hug that he didn't even consider letting up on until James returned the hug properly. "Hey. We're all here for you."

"I know. Love you too."

Tony rested his hand on the side of James' neck to make sure the kid focused on him. "You gonna tell me what went down?"

"He was just making sure I knew how much he wants to keep the twins safe."

"That's … a pretty big thing considering the last mission you ran."

"It's fine. We've got an understanding," James said, even if he couldn't force a smile.

Tony held his breath then nodded to himself. He could see he wasn't going to get it out of James when James was so clearly bending over backward to protect those around him. "Alright." He squeezed James' shoulder as he looked around again. "I'll get this taken care of. Probably a good time to take a breather."

"Are you sure?" James asked, looking around them. "Kinda feel like I need to finish up a few more of these sooner than later."

"I'll move them to my lab. I'll help you finish them." Tony gestured to Rachel. "Go on. It's fine. Pretty sure your sister wants to corner you for twenty questions, so if you don't choose to go, I'll have no choice but to let your dad know you're delirious and make sure Rachel drives you two home."

"Yikes, got it. See you tomorrow," James agreed as Rachel rolled her eyes, though she did look relieved to pull James along with her.

"Just go straight to my lab in the morning." Tony smiled as he watched them go, but America didn't leave, instead half-nudging the broken glass that was shattered across the floor.

"Why you pushing them out so fast?" America asked as Tony frowned, glaring around the room.

"No reason," Tony said before he headed for a cabinet in the far corner of the lab. It was one that James rarely used, and in fact, Tony had chosen it specifically for that reason. Inside, behind a few manuals and books, there was a small device that opened up to spit out a flash drive. Tony took it out and put a new flash drive in before he closed it up and put the books back in place. He started toward his lab with America on his heels. He was halfway there when he took out his cell phone and dialed Scott up. "Hey. Kids are coming home early. We had a Magneto issue here today. If you have a minute, I've got he video surveillance of what happened." He turned to America. "Don't suppose I could bribe you into getting Cyclops here, could I?"

"Usually I'd ask for payment up front," America said. "So you better be good for it."

"Look who you're talkin' to," Tony said, frowning at her as if she'd lost her mind. "I'll just give him a warning -"

"Too slow," America replied before she kicked a star-shaped hole into reality to usher Scott to them.

Tony held up the flash drive. "Hi, honey. I got surveillance on the Magneto attack that just happened. We both need to know what went down before we get actual time with that kid again."

Scott's eyes flashed. "Magneto?" he repeated, taking in the shattered glass and the otherwise normal state of the lab with new understanding.

"Yep, and the kid isn't talking - shocking no one." Tony waved Scott over. "This time though, I had surveillance wired to record if the windows were tampered with. They were alone, so no one to give us a run down like last time."

"Then it's a good thing you wired it," Scott said, nodding along.

"Let's see it," America broke in impatiently. "You two can bask in each other's overprotectiveness later. I wanna know how many bones to break."

Tony didn't argue it as he pulled up the file and let it play, relieved that nothing had happened to the tech or the recording device in the process. And it picked up from the moment the seals on the window were tampered with.

By the time the footage had played out, Scott's jaw was locked, and America had a slight glow to her eyes - her powers drew from emotion, and she was angry enough that it was spilling over. "I'll deal with this," Scott said at last, through his teeth.

"What are you thinking?"

"I've already talked to my brother about coming back to Genosha," Scott said. "Some of the old X-Men and I have been quietly keeping tabs on Magneto."

"What can I do to help?" Tony asked. "Tell me what you need."

"I need non-metallic weapons," Scott said without hesitating.

"That's been the kid's focus for a long time now."

"I know, but I'm asking you. I don't want something he's seen in this lab; I don't want him to connect it back to James if he sees it," Scott clarified.

"Yeah, I figured as much - just wanted to point out we've got plenty to work with. He's been working up new materials. I had hoped it was just an overabundance of caution. Didn't realize he was up to verbal sparring."

"I'd hoped things hadn't gotten this bad with Magneto," Scott admitted. "He and the professor always tried to work things out. For the sake of that memory, I'd hoped he'd get a grip."

Tony looked thoughtful for a long moment. "Any thoughts on how to deal with the kid? I already told him I'm moving his projects - and him - to my lab."

"I'll tell his boyfriend," America said simply, one eyebrow raised. "If you think a horrified, worried Billy won't keep James distracted while you two deal with the problem…"

"Which part would he be more horrified at?" Tony asked. "The part where grumpy grandpa is threatening the boyfriend or the part where the boyfriend is telling him to bring it?"

"Yes." America leaned against the wall with one foot kicked up. "What you boys fail to understand here is that this isn't the first time one of Billy's boyfriends has been threatened. In fact according to Tommy, every ex that did him dirty mysteriously vanished. Even the ones that didn't do him dirty. Put the clues together, chicos. It's not an empty threat. And Billy knows it; he just doesn't want to believe it without definitive proof." She gestured to the computer. "Which is what you have right there."

"We have proof of threats," Tony said. "As much as I hate defending Magneto in the realm of murder, we don't really know how to prove what happened to the exes." He turned back to Scott. "The older James gets, the more he's sounding like his parents when it comes to threats. But if you think you can open Billy's eyes ..."

"I think if we can show him the threats, he'll be smart enough to put two and two together," Scott said. "He's Vision's son."

Tony gestured openly. "Alright then. Miss America - you know Billy best."

"Great." America clapped her hands together, rubbed them, and then kicked another star-shaped hole in reality, yanking Billy and Kate out of their video game to join the three of them in James' lab.

"Oh, was there another burrito-ing?" Kate asked, wrinkling her nose as soon as she saw where they were.

"Hard to do when there was no metal within reasonable reach," Tony said. He waved both teenagers over. "Come on kids, we've got a little movie for you." As they made their way over, both of them looking a little confused, Tony set it up again then stepped back with his arms crossed over his chest.

Billy had one hand over his mouth, but Kate, to everyone's surprise, looked delighted. "Oh, look at him giving it to Grandpa Evil," she said. "I'm so proud." She nudged Billy. "C'mon. It's always fun to watch him work, isn't it?"

Billy shook his head, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the screen. "He didn't tell me it was this… blatant."

"Which one?" Tony asked. "Because James wouldn't. He'd try to cope on his own."

"He was trying to protect you," America said in an exasperated sigh. "He knows you love your family - even Magneto. He doesn't want to step on that."

"Yeah, but I love him too," Billy said, finally moving from shocked to angry as he gestured toward the screen. "And I don't want him dead - or staying with me so he doesn't get murdered."

"Oh, no worries there," Kate snorted. "You saw him."

"If he was intimidated, he'd have called it by now," Tony said. "Sounded to me like he's leaving it to you and prepared to face off if you tap out.." He pointed at the screen. "He's not afraid that he's going to get killed. I've seen that look enough. He's confident. Don't know if it's warranted or not, but he's confident."

Billy was floating slightly off the floor without meaning to before he turned to face Scott. "I need to check something," he said, his eyes literally alight. "But… you should know my grandfather wanted me to spy on you. And when I get back, let me tell you what he told me."

"If I'm not here when you get back, call," Scott said, knowing full well that James hadn't told Billy where they were actually living - still falling back on the safe house as 'home'.

"Fine," Billy said, then disappeared with a muttered, Backtomyroom. He had every intention of trying out a new spell he'd learned. He'd initially learned it so he could search for missing teammates. But now, he needed to use it to search for his exes. If they were even alive.

The lab was fixed up quickly enough, and Tony once again put his security system into place without James knowing - even going so far as to reinforce it better and add more, smaller cameras just so he had every angle now that he knew they worked.

The equipment was all moved back in, and several of them were humming along nicely again, but James wasn't giving them his attention at all. Not when he had so much coursework to catch up on. It was a point that Tony had brought up after the incident with Magneto - that he'd been ignoring the work he had to finish so he could secure the three masters degrees that Tony had strongly suggested he acquire ahead of the timeline they'd originally agreed to.

But between the time he was giving to the Avengers, the time he was investing in the X-Men, and the work he was doing for Stark Industries … he hadn't exactly fallen behind … but he wasn't keeping the pace he'd set for himself before he'd joined the teams. And Tony had used the incident with Magneto to remind him that he had a course set out ahead of him that Tony was relying on him to complete.

And that started with finishing his Masters in physics, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering. It wasn't something that was needed immediately, but Tony had suggested that it would be a point to smooth things over when he was old enough to step in as more than just his lab assistant if he blew past Tony's own education record. It didn't help that Reed Richards was quietly suggesting he turn those into doctorates and add in some extra degrees in physics ASAP, either.

So, instead of working on some of the projects he'd been tinkering on - or solving some of the problems he was anticipating on the horizon, James was focusing on getting some serious study time in. Not that Tony was complaining one bit. In fact, he was delighted to see James taking the time to work. He'd been working on studying all day and the evidence was piled up around him, too … stacks of books, a couple of open laptops with reference materials showing on screen, several notebooks full of trigonometry and calculus - and one with doodles- alongside a few empty coffee cups and some crumpled up take-out evidence.

He was, in fact, waiting for dinner to show - since he'd told his dad he was wrapped up in a paper that Reed Richards had written about quantum mechanics that he simply couldn't stop partway through. Not long enough to go home, anyhow. It required focus and driving home, sleeping on it and driving back the next morning would be enough to make him have to restart it. A bite of pizza though … that would be enough to make sure he didn't get a migraine.

So when Billy appeared in the lab with a spell, James broke into a crooked smile when he saw him, though he barely broke from reading to flirt. "What great timing you have, little prince. Is this payback for distracting you from your test at midterms? Should I be prepared to be a disappointment to Tony?"

But Billy looked stressed as he made his way over to where James was studying. "You know, I don't even know how to answer that," he said as James finally caught wind of how anxious Billy smelled.

"What's wrong?" James asked as he put the book in front of him to the side.

"Oh … you know just …." Billy ran his hands through his hair as James watched, almost wide-eyed. He'd never seen him like this. Or anywhere close to it. "There's no way to do this easy …".

"You're breaking up with me," James said in a shocked but totally flat tone.

"What? No!" Billy said, looking almost as shocked as James had been. "No, that's …" He let out a sigh and ran his hands through his hair again."So … I looked into it and it turns out that my grandfather's been killing all my exes, and it's kinda freaking me out." James got to his feet and made his way over to try and pull Billy into a hug, but he shrugged his shoulders up - he wasn't done yet.

"Hey …"

"I know for a fact that he's been threatening you, too - and you're just letting him do it," Billy said, which was more than enough to get James to stop - clearly red-handed. "So can you please, please - please be honest with me about what's going on? Don't try to cushion it. Don't … lessen it because I just found out that he's been murdering guys I've dated - and I am freaking out. I need you to not hide things from me. Especially this."

"Okay," James said, his shoulders relaxed as he gestured to the couch nearby. "You deserve that anyhow." He took a seat and waited for Billy to sit down. He took the far end of the couch, and though both of them were sitting sideways and facing each other, Billy's foot on the floor was jiggling, a detail that held James' attention for a few beats too long. "I'm sorry. I was just trying not to … I know how important my family is to me, and I didn't want anything to get between you and your family. It's probably a shit excuse, but it's the truth."

Billy scrubbed his hands over his face. "Why didn't you tell me, though? Don't you think that it should be my decision - that I should know what he's doing? What he's said to you?"

"Alright, yeah," James agreed quietly. "But I'm tired of everyone feeling like they need to protect me." he half heartedly gestured to the mountains of books on the bench. "I let them anyhow, but it's wearing."

"Hey, you're talking to me, here. Remember how my mom literally sent us off an island so we wouldn't be stiflingly protected?" Billy shook his head, his gaze drifting to the stack of books. "It's just… I get that you're trying to protect me too, but it feels lopsided when I don't know what the score is."

James considered him for a long moment. "Fair."

Billy's shoulders relaxed only slightly, though he finally stopped jiggling his foot. "So," he said quietly, "I guess… so that's a thing. The, um, the dead exes. That you should know about."

"I'm sorry you can't rebound backwards," James teased with a little smirk.

Billy was surprised into a quiet smile and shook his head. "Like I'd want to."

James smiled a little wider in response. "Never know …. Especially since I can only tell you things that won't blow other people's secrets up. Like … that ... " he tipped his head toward the books again, but didn't turn away. "I am trying to finish my masters. Three of them … so Tony has an easier time when he gets ready to step down." He let his shoulders drop. "It's not going to happen for a while, but he's prepping me to take over the company for him when he retires to just inventing. But no one outside of the family knows that yet."

"Oh. Wow." Billy blinked a few times, not at all expecting that - though he almost couldn't help but think that it explained a few things his grandfather had been questioning about James' place with Stark.

He didn't think he'd let his grandfather in on that secret, though. All things considered.

"And aside from helping to raise me, that's why Tony's so territorial, and all of why I'm so wrapped up in studying so hard. If you want secrets ... I have one more thing that I can tell you. I didn't tell my siblings this, either," James said, looking a little more anxious. "So ...you know how I said I've been talking to Rabbi Cohen?" Billy nodded and James continued. "I asked him to be my counselor, just so I can get a viewpoint that isn't superhero influenced on my crap."

Billy blinked in surprise but then, as he thought it over, slowly nodded. "Okay," he said. "I think I get that. I mean, Mom sent me to a different continent for a new viewpoint, so…." He shrugged. "I didn't drive you to therapy, though, right?"

"No," James said, shaking his head. "Had nothing to do with you. At all."

"Had to check."

"You really don't need to worry about that. When I get to a point I can tell you about it without freaking myself out, I will. But part of it was that I needed whoever I talked to not to know where I came from. So ..what else am I neglecting to disclose that I can disclose? There is more I want to tell you, but I can't yet. Not without clearance from other people."

"Um, I think the death threats and therapy, and Stark Industries plans are pretty big ones?"

"Yeah, but I figured since you knew the death threats, that part wasn't worth repeating," James said. "If you need me to say it, your grandfather really doesn't like me." He looked thoughtful a he tried to shift the mood in the room. "But … if he went after all your exes, maybe it's not that personal."

Billy shifted guiltily. "Ah… it kind of is with you. He might have… sort of… specifically told me to avoid you when we first got here."

"I know, I was trying to get a smile or something. It's always personal. But he's not scaring me off, so that has to count for something, right? Even if it's tiny."

"Not that tiny," Billy said, breaking into a genuine smile.

"Little bit tiny," James countered as the door to the lab opened and Tony came in with a pizza in hand, and more than ready to pick.

"I thought you were studying, not studying," Tony said, before tipping his chin up toward Billy. "Hey, kiddo. You're staying for a little while aren't you?"

"Hey, you're hogging my boyfriend. And there's pizza. So… yeah. I'm sticking around," Billy said.

"You wanna stick around, you can - hell, if you can keep from distracting him too much from finishing his degrees-"

"That you and Reed keep adding to," James cut in.

"We are adding to them because you're so good at the things we set in front of you," Tony said, giving James a significant look, which got James to smirk to himself at how not-sneaky Tony was.

"I just told Billy what your big plan for me is," James said. "So … you don't have to worry too much about interrupting yourself talking about the evil plans with MIT."

Tony stopped, looked toward the two of them and grinned brightly. "Not a bad deal, right? He's doing the work as easily as if it was breathing. You should see what he's been coming up with for space travel … this place is going to be something else when the time comes."

"And I'll get to tease him about him being the one locked up in a tower…" Billy said, grinning.

"Billy boy, that has been the case since he started getting his tutoring up here," Tony said. "So come on - grab a slice or two and you can help me figure out how to tell his dad we're moving things up - publicly anyhow."

"You can just not do that so you don't kill him," James suggested. "There's no reason to announce something that won't happen for a while anyhow." But Tony was already shaking his head.

"Yeah, I mean, didn't he just recover from the shock of having a Creed dropped on his kids?" Billy pointed out - still not happy about how that had turned out, even if he couldn't really blame either James or Tyler for it. Especially after the Avengers and X-Men started telling tales about James' mother's out of the box thinking and on the fly problem solving. That impromptu mid-battle kiss had been James' equivalent of a knee-jerk reaction. Apparently.

Tony shook his head again, more impatiently this time. "Hey. You just said it. We just watched as a Creed got dropped on our kids - by a weapons program. Those idiots think they can snipe my kid? Nope."

"He's just like this," James said quietly to Billy. "He thinks making a public spectacle since I lost the mask will help cushion things."

"At the risk of starting something… that… kind of sounds like my grandfather's logic," Billy said, already wincing as he said it.

"Hurtful," Tony said, just before he took a bite of pizza. "But I'm not doing it in a 'bow down' angle - no offense. It's more of a 'don't touch the kid. He's got connections. And besides, Jan's been drawing up your wardrobe for the announcement. Keeps waffling between something casual and a suit.'"

"Your grandfathers are touched," James said - just to get Tony to react - and he did, coughing hard and nearly falling off his chair. "Both of them."

Billy grinned brilliantly as he turned toward Tony. "He has a point, Grandpa," he said, complete with fluttering eyelashes just to mess with Tony. He'd never called him that before.

It took Tony a moment to recover, and when he finally did, he was laughing. "Alright, but I'm keeping you if that's the way you want to play it." He snapped his fingers. "And I want to see Wanda's face when you tell her that."

"Before or after I tell my dad you're embracing our family with open arms?" Billy shot back.

"Yes," Tony said, nodding, and smiling wide enough his eyes were sparkling. "Whatever you want, kiddo."

"I think he's good with us," James said quietly, just for Billy to hear. "Your dad will probably be glad to hear it."

Billy nodded. "He likes having family. I know he wishes Grandfather embraced him and Alex a little more. Might as well have a better bond on this side."

"Careful, if you keep talking about him, he'll start building you a jet or something." James pulled the pizza box over just as Tony started gushing to Billy now that he could.

Nothing was too in depth, but he was more than happy to dive in to bragging about what he had in mind for James' schooling from this point anyhow. Especially since that was one area that James really hadn't talked about too much with Billy. Not beyond vague mentions of what had been done already.

"Those are just the plans he and Richards have suggested," James clarified- not wanting to let Billy think that he was leaving anything out so soon after their earlier discussion. "I'm not convinced the doctorate isn't overkill."

"Overkill? In our family? I'm shocked to find that there's gambling in this establishment," Billy said dryly.

"See? No such thing," Tony said. "Then your sweetheart can have a doctor."

"I can almost guarantee you I'll make playing doctor jokes every thirty seconds," Billy said, grinning widely.

James burst out laughing at that, then leaned over to steal a kiss. "Not that kind of doctor."

"So?"

"Alright, I can take a cue," Tony said, grabbing one last slice then left th two of them - cackling as he went.

James waited or him to leave before he leaned in to steal a long kiss with Billy. "Are we okay then?" James asked. "I don't want to screw this up over something stupid."

Billy nodded. "Yeah. Just… no more secrets, okay?"

"As soon as I can tell you anything else, I will," James promised. "Until then, I'll just be here … in my tower… I guess working toward a doctorate or three ..."

"At least I know where to find you," Billy pointed out and then kissed James as they settled in to finish dinner.