A/N - Hey! you're back! Thanks for the reviews, Practically An Avenger and X-Men Over Avengers - always a pleasure!

Chapter 84 - Of Summerses And Otherses

"You gotta quit asking that kid to work on your web shooters," Tony said seriously the next day when Peter came by with his daughter to see how things were going.

"But he's like … surprisingly good," Peter said in an old discussion between them.

"Yeah, think I don't know that? I've got him set to replace me. If he wasn't at least as good at this stuff as I am, I wouldn't even consider it."

"I know," Peter said, smiling to himself before he threw an arm around Tony's shoulders. "I just like to hear you admit it. And it's probably good to let him hear it sometimes, too."

Tony had never been lax in handing out compliments of that nature, so Peter's concerns were unfounded and about as close as he came to giving Tony a hard time about anything of that nature. Especially when the Hales had returned to the tower for another day after they all agreed that Tony and James could outfit all of them with something or another to keep them safe. And Tony wasn't about to start up a picking session with Spidey with that many witnesses.

"Okay," Peter said after it was clear Tony wasn't going to engage. "What did he do this time?"

"Just a little webbing," Tony said, perfectly off the cuff even if it was a massive understatement.

"Oh yeah, gotta watch out for random webbings," Peter said as Mayday finally started to giggle as she watched the back and forth between them. She'd almost gotten Steve's okay on Avengers' training … and though she really didn't want to get on Tony's bad side, she knew exactly how webbed up her father liked to make his fellow heroes when the mood struck.

"New tensile strength on the formula is something else," Tony said casually as he picked up his mug then took a drink.

"I … didn't ask him to do that," Peter said, frowning suddenly. "My formulation was perfect."

"Well now it's perfect-er," Tony said, then smiled tightly at Peter, daring him to argue his own commentary from just moments before.

"We'll see about that," Peter said, half grumbling. He trusted James to work on his web shooters, but when it came to the chemical compound, he knew that James sometimes had Tony's penchant for going overboard and that could be worrisome. Little things like release time, flexibility, and the timing on catching it as they came out of the device so he could swing was critical. And that was something he didn't like being fiddled with. "I'm the one swinging, I should pick my formula."

He turned and started toward the lab, only to find that James wasn't there … so he headed to James' room since he knew the kid had to be in the tower. He had to. "May- can you look in the lounge, please?"

"Can I not?" Mayday called back with her arms crossed. "You're the one that wants to talk to him. You find him."

"You really don't understand how hard it is to play hide and seek with Wolverine's kid," Peter muttered almost to himself as he started to much more cautiously look for him.

Tony knew that James was trying to give the Parkers space - not because he didn't like them, but because Mayday was still acting as if James had sleighted her and he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. That or she was a little salty that he was dating a guy now. But what she didn't know was that Cap had seen it too - and he was holding back from letting May step up because of her reluctance to be anywhere near James. It wasn't that Steve wanted them to be paired up for the team, it was just that if there was going to be a problem, he needed both of them to be past it before there was an issue in the field. And every time someone brought up May's ex, she'd get defensive and refuse to talk to or about him.

It was bad for the team to have conflict like that and Steve wasn't above taking James off the team if he was going to cop an attitude, too. He just needed to give the kid a chance to show it one way or the other and it just … it hadn't happened.

But … eventually, Peter found James all the same by using an entirely unorthodox method of simply calling out for him. "Hey! Young Wolverine!" Peter said with his hands cupped around his mouth. "Did you get done with my triggers yet?"

When there was no answer, though a lot of people watching him with odd expressions on their faces, Peter turned back toward Tony. "I don't get it! What gives?"

One step forward was all Peter got before his spider sense went completely nuts and he reacted before he saw the danger - right into the line of fire as James fired Peters own web shooters at him - and trussed him up upside down before starting to laugh. But he wasn't laughing at Peter. He was laughing at Mayday, who had also over reacted to the impending danger and had startled so hard, she'd fallen over with a shouted out 'augh!' that struck James exactly right in the humor department. What's more, Peter had shouted in exactly the same manner and James simply could not ignore the humor in that at all.

He couldn't even get a breath to say anything to Peter for how hard he was laughing - to the point that he actually slid to the floor, holding his stomach. And every single angry protest from Peter or Mayday only had him further on the floor, unable to breathe right.

"You lunatic!" Mayday shouted as she got to her feet and stomped over to where James was still laughing. "Why would you do that!" She glared at him as he got himself halfway under control, not at all amused at his reactions, even if it was hard not to let the infectious laugh get to her.

James made a more honest effort to stop busting up as he pushed himself up onto one elbow, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes as he did so, but when he looked up at her with a grin and just … gestured between her and her father, he couldn't keep it back forever … and this time, as he broke up laughing, May's irritation cracked and she started laughing with him.

"You're such a jerk sometimes," May said as she offered James her hand, then pulled him to his feet. "There was no reason to web my dad up!"

"Really?" James challenged, eyebrows raised. "You don't think that was worth it?"

"Shut up," she laughed, shoving him over a step as they made their way over to dissolve the webs.

But … the whole display had been in full view of Steve … and as soon as this had settled out, he decided that it was time to let May Parker into the Avengers … if she still wanted to join. If they could laugh like this, and she could drop her anger over an admittedly dirty trick on James' part, they'd likely be fine on a team together.

Nate knew that his dad was totally preoccupied with all the drama going down with James, with Billy and James, with Annie, and with Craig and Emma… so he was quietly trying to deal with his own plans without bothering Scott.

Besides, he had a feeling that Scott would take it exactly the wrong way if Nate told him he was trying to graduate high school a semester early. There was no way his Dad would chalk it up to a late game play to be a little more like his brother. And the way things had gone with Billy and James going "too fast," Nate was half convinced his dad would think he was trying to graduate just because Kate was a grade ahead of him.

Not that he didn't consider that a perk of finishing early, obviously. But the reality was that he was tired of being the baby brother, and he wanted to move ahead and be an adult without having to navigate homework and high school. His siblings and his girlfriend were going to be able to do what they wanted. Why couldn't he?

So, he'd met with his counselor to discuss a schedule. And he could make it work… but he wouldn't have time for anything but school and one team. And obviously, he'd pick the X-Men every time.

He wasn't looking forward to the glares and looks he'd get all of fall semester, though. He was the quarterback, after all… And he kept wavering on whether he could squeeze in enough football to do two teams. No basketball for sure, but…

"You look like you're gonna hurt yourself," Kate said as she waltzed into his room with the takeout they'd ordered. "Senior year stressing you that much?"

"Planning for it is, yes, as a matter of fact," Nate replied. "It's just a lot to juggle."

"Sure, sure," Kate said, smiling as she slid next to him and then started opening boxes of food. "So, what's the holdup? Can't decide whether to take painting or photography or home ec or…"

"Trying to decide how many teams I can juggle," Nate answered honestly. "I'm not doing fluff classes."

"Shame. That's what I did," Kate said. "That's the only way I was able to do cheer and fencing and the X-Men and Avengers…"

"Yeah, well, I want to get this over with," Nate said.

"It's because you can't stand to be dating someone so much older, isn't it?" Kate teased. "You were looking for a graduation gift for me and had a crisis."

"That's why I call you my old lady," Nate teased with a crooked grin. "So much older."

"Oh yeah. I'm totally the crypt keeper. How you're still attracted to me is beyond understanding."

"It's rough," Nate chuckled, just trying to rile her now.

"That's okay. I'm a dirty cradle robber," Kate said, fluttering her eyelashes.

"That's also true," he agreed before he pulled her over to steal a rather involved kiss. "You don't really care much about my stupid planning, so why don't we go do something fun?"

"Oh, if you think you can hold back your Summersy planning urges," she teased, though she was already kissing him back between words.

"I can multitask," Nate said with a laugh.

"Don't usually see you in Westchester," Rachel called out, smiling when she saw America step out of a star-shaped hole in reality right into Rachel's office where she helped new students adjust and helped Betsy teach telepathic defense.

America smiled and dusted herself off as the star closed behind her. "Needed somewhere I knew was safe to come out the other side," she said with a shrug. "Nasty dimensional slug problems," she added, flicking a bit of slime off of her jacket.

"Oh, is that all?" Rachel laughed.

"Just trying to keep our team from the same problems that plagued the first team," America said, purposefully only keeping her mind open enough for Rachel to see part of the fight - but not enough to identify her opponent.

Rachel knew America was baiting her, but all the same, she was curious enough to rise to that bait. "Okay, I know you know I can't cheat, so what's the story here?"

"Interdimensional entertainment mogul who gets his kicks by kidnapping people to make them fight or die for his 'shows'," America said, making a face that clearly illustrated what she thought of the whole idea.

"Sounds serious," Rachel said, smiling her way.

"Surprisingly so, considering he looks like something Kate's baby siblings drew in crayon."

"Looked."

"No, he still looks like crayon scribbles. Just different ones," America said, flipping her hair with a crooked smirk.

"Uh huh. So. Did you come here because you needed a shower before our date?"

America paused just long enough to blink and then laughed outright, taking Rachel by the waist to pull her over to her. "Why, yes, I'd like to go out with you," she said, dangerously close enough for a kiss without actually doing so.

"Oh good. I thought I'd have to wait forever otherwise," Rachel said.

"Princess, you have no idea."

"I dunno. I have a couple ideas …"

America laughed outright. "Lead the way, little bird. I think I'm gonna like this."

Rachel smirked a little more crookedly then closed the gap to steal a kiss. "Keep up, now."

"I'll do more than that," America replied - and to prove the point picked Rachel up off her feet.

Scott wasn't entirely sure if Billy was giving him a hard time still because James had sided with Scott and Wanda, or if something else had happened in their dramatic romance, but it really didn't matter. Not when Scott still had to let Billy know that he'd been chosen to play tour guide to the newest student at Xaviers.

"Billy," Scott said, and when Billy looked up at him, Scott waved him up. "I thought I'd give you a heads up."

"Is my mother coming back?" Billy asked with a tone of irritation in his voice.

"Not that I know of," Scott said. "But I thought you might want to prepare yourself … Ms. Munroe is planning to ask you if you'll play tour guide for the new kid. I don't want to tell you how to do anything, but it is kind of a tradition to let some of the older, more established students show the new ones around."

"Yeah, but I thought Mia and Tommy were doing that."

"Well, Mia usually is our default, but we like all of our students to engage in helping each other," Scott told him gently, then had to try and go for a light tease. "You aren't required to do anything outside of normal school hours, so it shouldn't cut into your time in Cambridge."

But at that, Billy narrowed his eyes for just an instant, but didn't voice his opinion either way. Especially when he was pretty sure he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. So for the time being, he took his seat and went to work … intent on finishing whatever work he had to do in Scott's class without engaging any further.

By the time he got into Storm's class, he had taken the time to think it over .. and though he wasn't excited to meet this new kid by any stretch of the imagination, when he did see him - it was plainly obvious how new he was.

"Billy," Ororo called out when she saw him. "Please, come here. I'd like to ask you to be Vojteck's guide for the next few days." She smiled warmly between both of them, and Billy watched as the new kid half cringed, obviously self conscious. He wasn't any taller than Billy was - with a reasonable build, dark hair, and green eyes that were incredibly intense.

Vojteck smiled bashfully, then hesitantly extended his hand. "Pleased to meet you," he said in a thick accent that had Billy blinking at him a few times because that … that sounded an awful lot like his mother's accent when she was emotional … or missing her brother Pietro. "Vojteck Kovacs. You are?"

"Billy Maximoff," he replied, a little off balance because most, if not all of the kids they met even at the school knew who he was, even if they didn't know what to do with 'royalty'.

"I trust you can help Vojteck find his way?" Ororo said with a warm smile.

Billy did a small double take but agreed, earning himself a broad smile from Vojteck and a moment later, Ororo left the room, leaving Billy in charge of the direction to classes ad how to decipher Storm's classroom number system. Which ended up being how he spent most of his day between classes … showing the new guy how to get to one class or another, how to find the fastest path to the dining room, etc etc … he just wasn't exactly expecting to have to show him around after school, too … or to take him to the library so he could find a study group that would work well with him …

And by the time he was done showing him around, Billy realized it was getting late. Like … already missed dinner late. Which meant his usual dinner date was probably shot. But … considering the fact that James was involved in all kinds of things with Stark and the school … well. He'd be fine one night alone. Still, he made a point to text as soon as he realized how much time helping Vojteck had eaten up.

Hey, handsome - I got assigned a new student to show around. Totally didn't realize how late it was.

There was a short pause before the three little dots in the text box danced, letting Billy know that at least James wasn't going to ignore him. Lucky new kid, James replied. Hope you had some fun while you played tour guide Barbie.

Not horrible, Billy replied, though he didn't want to call and be overheard with Vojteck still trying to stick close to him. Raincheck?

Open invite, James answered.

I'll tell you all about it when I come by.

Sounds good. Have fun.

Billy looked only mildly let down that he didn't get the usual X's and O's … or the even more common 'love you' … He frowned at his phone, for a long moment, then put it away, already considering wishing himself there to make sure there wasn't something wrong when his phone chimed with a selfie from James - clearly showing that he was still working with a box of chinese next to him. So Billy did the only thing he could and answered with a selfie of his own - clearly showing that he was still in the library with half a dozen other kids.

This wasn't nearly as much fun as being in person … especially when he knew his guy was once again alone with Bobby no longer staying at the house with him. But he seemed fine…

Still … Billy frowned and was sure to send one last message. See you tomorrow?

I'll be here. Sleep tight. This time, James had been sure to sign off with a quick XO, but it felt like a far cry from acceptable compared to what the two of them had been used to not too long ago.

Try as he might to ignore it, it sure felt like they were drifting apart from one stupid circumstance or another. Which was when Billy decided he wasn't going to wait until Vojteck or Cyclops or anyone else could throw something else at him to mess up his plans. Not when he could wish himself to Cambridge first thing in the morning for coffee with his sweetheart.

James was dragging when Billy showed up bright and early well before classes. He'd barely gotten himself half dressed and was in the kitchen shirtless and barefoot - part way through making coffee when the room filled with a blue-white light and a moment later, Billy had made his way over to wrap James up from behind for a squeeze.

"Are you even awake?" Billy asked, waiting just long enough for James to finish pouring the water in the coffee pot before he pulled him around for a proper hello kiss.

"No," James said, one eye open, though as soon as they were facing each other, he dove right in to say hello right. When the kiss was over, James had to ask; "What brings you here so early in the morning?"

"I really didn't like the way yesterday ended," Billy said, perfectly happy to be wrapped up as James nuzzled his neck, leaving little kisses and nips in his path just because they could and James hadn't been overly thrilled at having been alone again in the house.

"Me either," James agreed, then pulled back to look Billy in the eyes. "But this is an excellent way to say good morning."

"Too bad we don't have a lot of time, or I'm sure we could come up with better," Billy countered.

"Definitely," James agreed, and just like that, the two of them began what had been their usual morning wake up … fixing breakfast together and enjoying a few minutes to just be there. They were halfway through their second cups of coffee when James' phone went off, and he absently picked it up to read the text, though the content had him waking up a little bit faster. "Well that's different."

"What's up?" Billy asked, scooting over a little closer to see what was happening.

"It's Franklin Richards," James said, shifting so Billy could read it, too. "He said he's going to be doing a guest lecture at Harvard and wanted to know if I had room here so he doesn't have to go stay with his uncle."

Billy frowned. "I didn't know you two were that close."

"I mean, we haven't really hung out in a couple years," James said. "But I know how much Johnny gets on his nerves trying to be the cool, relatable one." He looked over at Billy to try and lay it out a little clearer. "I went to the Baxter Building for a while for school work. Franklin was always ahead of me, content-wise and he was a great translator for when his dad would get caught up in something. We're friends."

"And he wants to stay here?" Billy asked with a frown.

"Looks like," James said, then smirked crookedly before he handed Billy the phone. "Don't worry. I'm not going to say anything until I get your input. I'll just point out that Bobby's only here when it's time to go back to the city and it's totally boring otherwise. But … if you're going to be territorial…" He leaned forward and gave Billy a very gentle kiss. "Or if you're just worried, all I can tell you is that he's straight, not anywhere near as good looking as you, and the biggest dork on the planet, so … it's not an issue."

"Oh, obviously," Billy said, though he hadn't lost the frown. He had severe doubts that Scott would okay anything of the sort - especially after the freakout he'd had when it came out that Billy was living there. "It's just short term, right?"

"That's what he says," James said with a nod.

"I don't think that'd be horrible," Billy said, though he curled in a little tighter and James took the cue for more kisses.

"Then I'll tell him I have to ask Dad and Tony this weekend," James said. "They might even shoot it down on the basis that then, MIT may try to say I had him helping me cheat."

"You're right, it might be an automatic no anyhow," Billy agreed, finally losing the frown as he leaned in for another kiss. "But maybe we can just spend a few minutes without talking about other people before we both have to go to class."

After that stolen morning, though, it was hard for Billy to find time to break away to spend time in Massachusetts with his sweetheart for the rest of the week. They'd talked and even had a few video chats late at night that made it incredibly hard to continue to obey their parent's guidelines, but as for actual in person time? Billy simply hadn't been able to break away. Vojteck, who was almost painfully shy, seemed to look to Billy for guidance - and it probably didn't help Billy to get distance when Vojteck's accent was thick enough that more often than not he almost needed a translator - which he easily had with Billy or Tommy, who knew the ins and out of that type of dialect and how it curled around English in a manner that was easily predictable for them to guess at what Vojteck was after.

Both brothers, in fact, were fairly invested in helping him learn English a little bit more clearly - and it didn't take long before they were almost keeping watch to make sure that the guy wasn't horribly misunderstood.

What's more, Billy knew from recent experience that it was going to be rough to get away from Vojteck long enough to steal a few minutes with James while he was up at the tower for the weekend. A weekend that was going to have some important things discussed - like James' upcoming birthday plans, how best to deal with the press that was circling because of that, and in a distant third place, the matter of Franklin Richards asking to bunk up. Billy hardly had enough time to think of how to deal with any of that when he'd been doing his level best to help Vojteck … who seemed perfectly happy to focus on Billy. Protective of the kid as he was, Billy needed a break from Vojteck. The guy was getting entirely too clingy.

So he was almost relieved when Scott asked if he was going to the tower.

"Are you still holding fast to making me ride with you?" Billy asked. "Because I can get us there much faster."

Scott considered it, but also thought about what Wanda had said to him privately about making sure that Billy had to handle things at the same speed that everyone else did from time to time. Yes, Tommy was the one with the reputation for being fast - but Billy had always done everything he could to try and keep up with that pace."I thought it might be a good time for you to get your driving hours in," Scott said finally, which had Billy doing a full double take.

"What?"

"You are still trying to get your license, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Then you need time driving." Scott tossed the keys to him and Billy caught them without looking or thinking about it.

"Oh … okay then," Billy said quietly, a little confused on how that shift had happened.

Scott smirked and shook his head. "I'm not out to get you, Billy," he teased gently, then turned to lead the way to his truck.

"All evidence to the contrary."

Scott sighed. "Billy…"

"I know, I know." Billy shrugged his shoulders up as he got to the drivers side of Scott's truck, waiting until he was situated before speaking again. "Still."

Scott was quiet for some time in the cab as Billy made his adjustments before, quietly, he said, "I remember what it was like, you know. Jean and I got married young. I know what it's like to fall hard and fall early."

More time passed as they got onto the road with Billy quietly thinking over what he wanted to say that would have the most impact.

"So if you did this too, you should be on my side," Billy pointed out. "It's not like we're engaged or whatever."

"Okay, but that's the problem," Scott said slowly. "You're too young to do what you're trying to do."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time," Billy said. "Can we just do this driving thing, or am I getting another lecture about being too young to move in with the guy I love?"

"I said we'd get you time on your license," Scott said. "But that doesn't mean I can't try to make a point."

"Summerses and multitasking." Billy blew out his breath from his cheeks. "Look, you can't even come after me for leading him on or not loving him or anything like that, because I do, so honestly? Once we're eighteen? Gonna go back to the way things were. Not really up to you."

"I'm not trying to say anything like that," Scott said. "And I'm not trying to keep you apart. I just would like to see you both take a little time and ease into it."

"I'm not really built for that," Billy pointed out.

"I get that, but he may decide he wants to keep going with his education, too," Scott said. "Can you be patient enough to see him through that?"

Billy paused, bit his lip, and then said, haltingly, "If it's like this every semester? I don't know if I can take that," he admitted. "But everyone keeps saying this is temporary and it's just one semester, so it's not that likely anyway."

"I know that's what everyone keeps saying, but Billy, I'm trying to be honest with you. He was considering taking it further before the college did what it did and I don't want to discourage him if he decides to go for doctorates. And I sure as hell don't want this one moron at the school cutting him off before he's done."

Billy came to a stop at a light and folded his arms, leaning back in his seat. "I - I know I have to share him with Stark Industries anyway," he said. "And my mom wants me to go back to Genosha eventually and do more as crown prince. But, like, it's different with this stupid college thing, okay? They're making him jump through so many hoops even when we lived together I barely saw him. That's not a fair question."

"I know. But I don't think he'd want to do it if it was like this all the time, either," Scott admitted. "He doesn't react well at all when he thinks someone doesn't trust him."

Billy shifted, thinking of how James had reacted to his mom's interference. "Yeah. Well. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, I guess."

"I just want you to be prepared," Scott said, then gestured toward the steering column. "Use your blinkers."

It was such an absurd transition from one idea to the other that Billy nearly laughed - and then turned on his blinker anyway. His boyfriend's dad was weird to deal with, but considering all James had put up with when it came to Magneto, he had to keep reminding himself he actually had the better end of the stick when it came to boyfriend's family.

Still, he'd feel better when this was all over and he could just curl up with James every night without interference. He was on a countdown.

When Billy and Scott got to the tower and made their way up, they weren't overly surprised to see that James was there with Tony, Bobby, and Craig. Nor were they surprised to find that they were in the middle of discussing the Franklin Richards matter. But Billy wasn't expecting the three adults already talking to be stumping in favor of Franklin moving in. And it all happened very quickly.

"Oh good, we were just discussing the Richards situation," Tony said, waving them both over. "I got the details from Reed on what's going on. Sounds like it might be a good way to let our boy here have a roommate that doesn't fuel the prank wars."

"So what's the full story?" Scott asked, tipping Billy off that the idea wasn't off the table.

"Franklin's supposed to be doing his first full lecture series at Harvard. Kid's nervous but he doesn't want to rely on family. He's too young to go out on his own, so … Sue's idea. She knew James had a place there that we set up. She knows he'd be safe."

"He'd have to agree to the same security protocols," Scott said. "As much as I like Franklin, I won't go along with it if he's going to be sloppy about security."

"I don't think that's a problem," Tony said. "He knows the level we expect is higher than when the boys were studying together before."

Scott looked toward James, who had been very careful not to express an opinion at all one way or the other before he nodded. "Might be good for both of them."

Tony turned to Craig. "Any thoughts?"

"It's probably the closest thing to a college roommate that he can get, realistically," Craig said. "And being alone all the time at his age isn't the best idea."

"I'm not alone all the time," James argued, though Scott and Tony both glossed over it in favor of continuing their bizzare agreement.

"I'll call Reed and let him know," Tony said with a nod that Scott was echoing.

"Make sure he comes here first to get set up with the right emergency buttons and comms," Scott said as he led the way deeper into the room.

James looked between Tony and Scott, then took Billy's hand to find a few minutes of privacy. "Well, that's that, I suppose," he said quietly. "They'll take care of the details, which means I don't need to be friendly with anyone and we can have a little date."

"Just a little one, huh?" Billy said, still trying to process what had just happened with Scott, Tony, Craig … and the fact that apparently, it was okay for Franklin Richards to move in with James, but not Billy. "Where were you planning on taking me?"

"Well … to be honest, I thought it might be nice to get out. As in … well away from Natasha's circle of influence here in New York," James replied. "So I guess … it's up to you if you want to pick somewhere and get us there or if I'm stealing a jet and we're figuring it out."

"And since we can't spend the night, it'd be much better if I picked," Billy said, already irritated enough that he'd rather just … disappear with him and take the weekend if not for the fact that he knew his mother would be all over them in a heartbeat.

"Unless you'd rather we just ordered in and hunkered down," James said. "I just figured you probably had enough of full supervision all the time everywhere we go. A night off …"

"Is overdue," Billy agreed.

"Great," James answered with a smile. "Your pick on where and what you want to do. I'm game for whatever you want."