A/N - Hey guys! Hope your holiday weekend was grand - here! Have a chapter -and much love to those that took a moment to review - X-MenOver Avengers, I'm lookin' at you, kid!

Chapter 85 - Green Is Not Your Color

Kate had decided to pick Lexi up from school herself because, for the first time in a while, she didn't have anything going on after school. Nate was in a meeting with his guidance counselor, so she couldn't get wrapped up in him - instead, she wanted to check on her dramatic friends under the guise of picking up her sister. Especially Mia, America, and Billy.

As she pulled up the drive, she wasn't surprised to see Mia out on the lawn with Leslie Ann. The two of them had become fast friends, especially since Leslie Ann adored Mia and wanted to join the X-Men. Mia needed someone who was just as full of life as she was and someone who took one look at her and worshipped her like the goddess she was. Sure, Mia had Forge constantly talking her up as well as the other X-Men, but someone from the outside? That made a real difference, and everyone could see it in the way Mia held herself a little more confidently lately.

Beyond them, she could see Billy, who looked like he was trying to figure out how to get rid of his shadow without being rude to the poor guy. Kate shook her head and decided to take pity on him and give him a way out. "Hey, Billy!" she called out. "Are we still on for driving lessons?"

Billy looked relieved as he bounded over to Kate. "You are a lifesaver," he said as soon as he got in the car.

"It's a good thing the guy doesn't know American law well, because I am so not legally old enough to let you drive with me as your instructor," Kate cackled, waiting just long enough for Vojteck to leave before she invited Leslie Ann and Mia over as well.

"As if I even care about that part right now." Billy paused, shaking his head as they got moving. "He just … keeps pushing for more of my time."

Kate made a noise of sympathy. "Believe it or not, I can relate. I have a full-on stalker at school, and the only reason Nate hasn't done a number on his head is that the guy has ties to my dad's old circus, and I'd rather deal with one stalker than a whole circus of Hydra-affiliated losers."

"Hydra circus. Yeah, that doesn't sound terrible at all," Billy said dryly. "Bunch of horrible, anti-mutant creeps with bendy circus chops. Nope."

"Why doesn't Nate just kick his butt the old-fashioned way?" Mia asked.

"Because he wants to graduate," Kate said dryly. "This guy usually causes problems during school. That's the real problem."

"So … the creep wants to get suspended?" Mia asked.

"My read on the situation? He straight up doesn't care about school. He's not trying; he's blatant about what he's doing when he's trying to screw with me; and all the teachers hate him." She made a face. "He's not in school to get an education. Dad's already looking into whether the rest of the stupid circus is involved."

"Two words," Leslie Ann said, though her tone was quiet. "Restraining order."

Kate turned toward Leslie Ann and then laughed. "Of course the cop's daughter has the right solution. Way to go, Leslie Ann."

"Might as well try to do it legally before you kick his butt, right?" Leslie Ann said, blushing high on her cheeks.

"Less fun, but yes, you have a point," Kate said, tapping the side of her nose.

"I mean … if it's anything like most of the restraining orders I hear about, he'd still be a jerk anyhow, but … you could kick his butt and take him to court." Leslie Ann smiled. "Self defense."

"Oh, yeah. When are you old enough for Uncle Steve to let you go out for the team, because you so have my endorsement," Kate laughed, grinning into the back seat. "Wanna be an X-Man, right?"

"I do, but he just now told May Parker she could go into the Avengers, and she's been trying forever," Leslie Ann said. "It'll probably take me until I graduate."

"Okay, but that's different," Kate said, waving her hand. "May had to get over herself because she was holding a grudge against James for being a hero. Total drama central. Steve won't let anyone onto the team who can't play with others."

"Yeah, how's that going?" Mia asked. "I haven't seen her since she got the okay yet."

Kate shrugged. "Well, the tower hasn't imploded, and so far, she's been alright. I think her dad talked to her - and my mom pulled her aside too, as soon as Steve offered her the spot.

"Sure … James hasn't been at practice with her either," Mia pointed out. "I'm going to wait for that to happen before I decide how good an idea this is."

"Atta girl," Billy said, grinning. "Defend my guy while I'm stuck with Vojteck."

"Don't think that Uncle Cap will let you get away with missing too many practices," Mia said.

"Good, because the guy won't leave me alone unless I have excellent reasons, and upsetting Captain America feels like it's up there," Billy said, throwing both hands up to illustrate his annoyance.

"Well, he thinks he has excellent reasons to follow you around," Mia said, smiling.

"Yeah, I get it," Billy said. "I know he's not the easiest to understand, and it's not that I'm unsympathetic-"

"No," Mia said while Leslie Ann giggled beside her. "He likes you, as in likes likes. Please don't tell me you didn't notice that."

Billy stared at Mia. "What? No." He shook his head. "No way."

"Yes," Mia and Leslie Ann said insistently at the same time.

Billy blinked and turned toward Kate, who shrugged. "Don't look at me. I'm not here as often as they are," she said.

Billy shook his head and looked back at the other girls. "Seriously?"

"Tommy's been laughing about it this whole time," Mia said.

Billy pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to get him back for this, I swear. I'm taken. He's an idiot."

"It's a harmless crush as long as he doesn't push you," Kate said.

"Yeah, the pushing part is the important part," Mia agreed fervently.

Kate smirked in the rearview at Mia. "You'd know, right? Tommy's being patient?"

Mia smiled wider. "When he wants to remind me he actually likes me, yeah," she said, then giggled. "Other times…"

"Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and ban all talk of my brother's sex life around me forever and ever, okay?" Billy said, making a noise that said he was dying.

Mia glanced up at Kate, grinned, and nodded. "Oh, okay. But we must be doing something right, since we haven't had the Scarlet Witch show up in her pajamas to stop us."

Billy turned his body around fully in the passenger seat to look at Mia. "Really?"

Mia grinned impishly, her tail swaying and her smile showing her pointed teeth. "Yeah, I heard about that. Tommy says the two of you were doing fine until sleepovers became such a worry."

Billy nearly rolled his eyes out of his head. "Tommy doesn't know what he's talking about," he said. "I'm mostly surprised you're willing to go that far with my idiot of a brother."

"Billy, you may or may not know this, but my grandfather was a demon. I just can't help myself sometimes."

Billy flopped back into his seat dramatically - which prompted all of the girls in the car to burst into laughter.

The Richards were fast to move on Tony and Scott's agreement for Franklin to stay with James for a little while. By Monday, they were already halfway moved in - with Tony and Natasha having spent part of the weekend helping them get the clearance for Franklin to get past the security measures in place. Natasha in particular spent a lot of time making sure he knew exactly what he could and couldn't do there, right down to the policy on visitors. And since Franklin was a guest, he hadn't even considered the possibility of visitors - and he refused to consider anyone beyond his family when given the option anyway.

By the time James got back to Cambridge, the boxes were all delivered for Franklin, and Franklin himself was trying to figure out where to start. When he saw James, he broke into a smile and then gestured around them. "How do you even … where do you begin?"

James let his bag slip off his shoulder and hung his keys up as he locked the door. "Well … hit the most pressing issues first," James said. "Place to sleep, clothes for tomorrow, and what you'll need immediately first thing in the morning."

"I've got a few days before my first lecture," Franklin said.

"Then do that stuff first and start organizing what you need now," James advised.

Franklin nodded as he looked at their surroundings. "So … I don't suppose Stark has someone like Jarvis coming in for you, does he?"

"He wanted to," James said. "But I prefer picking up after myself - and cooking for myself. But not tonight. Move-in night is always pizza."

"Is that a rule?" Franklin teased, in slightly better spirits now that he knew the depths that James had moving day down. Then again, he should have known, considering how many times Scott had picked up their entire family to move when James was a kid and the family needed to get away from groups that were getting a little too close for comfort.

"No. It's a law," James said, then headed over to pick out a menu from the stack near the fridge to hand to him. "And relax. I know you're not used to being away from the Baxter Building much, but … trust me. You'll be fine."

"I know. It's just weird, you know?"

"Yep." James dropped down on the couch and kicked his feet up while Franklin tried to relax. It was obvious he was out of his depth, and James could see why Sue wanted him with someone his own age that was more used to … whatever this was. He rubbed his eyes with one hand as he sat back. "You've got a whole day to get the layout of the place and figure out your best route to the school. That's pretty cush. So just … try to relax. Play a game or something."

"That's not a bad idea," Franklin said. "I saw you have a console set up. How often do you play?"

"Only when Bobby won't quit talking to me," James said. "So whenever he's here and I'm not on my way out the door."

"That's criminal. Let's mix that up a little bit." Franklin paused. "Unless you have work to catch up on."

James let out a hollow laugh. "Yeah, even if I did, I can't do it here. I'll order dinner while you set up the game, then I can tell you all about the hoops they're making me jump through."

"Are you even qualified to be a trick pony?" Franklin teased.

"At least I'm not a one-trick pony," James countered, which had Franklin smiling.

And while James wasn't entirely sure of how well this setup was going to work between them - because even if he and Franklin were friends, they hadn't spent a lot of time together in a few years and they'd never spent anywhere near this much time together - Franklin was actually positive about the possibilities and once again excited to be around someone his own age that could keep up.

Football season was over, and the cheerleading squad was switching over their focus to basketball season. The athletes involved had a short break before basketball started, but the cheerleaders … they had to finalize a few new routines that would work at short breaks during the game. Which meant that Kate was the one practicing and Nate was sitting on the bleachers in support while working on his homework. And he was one of only three football players doing so.

The girls who didn't have their football player boyfriends watching them were once again jealous of how Kate's quarterback was such a gentleman to stick around and watch her practice. But Nate was well out of the way, giving the coaches a chance to walk the bleachers looking at the routines from different angles. Which was great and showed consideration for the coaching staff, too… but it also put him out of the line of sight when Daniel DuBois came in, took stock of the area where the cheerleaders had left their bookbags, and then headed over to sit right there.

Nate had seen him come in, then looked up in almost a double-take when he once again tried to reach out telepathically to find Daniel's mind and see how far off base he was in his assessment of the guy. Nothing irritated Nate more in that moment than to know that the idiot creep stalking his girlfriend was capable of blocking him telepathically. But still, being him, Nate pushed to try and find the edges of the telepathic shield. He stopped short of forcing his way in only because Betsy had warned him that doing so could hurt if it was a natural shield, but he could actually destroy Daniel's mind if it was an artificial one. And he couldn't take the chance. If he knew it'd be a migraine, he'd have done it repeatedly. But … he doubted this moron had natural anything.

So … Nate watched and waited to see what the heck this guy was up to. Especially since all he did so far was harass cheerleaders - Kate in particular.

For a while, Danny didn't do anything, but he wasn't there by the girls' things for long before Kate started watching him, too - Hawkeye that she was. But she couldn't concentrate on figuring him out while she had work to do, so Nate gladly took on that role. He wasn't sure what he could do, though. Or he wasn't sure until he saw Daniel looking around the gym to make sure no one was watching him before he carefully pulled out something from his pocket. Nate couldn't see what it was from where he was, and he couldn't see what he was doing with Kate's bag right in front of him, so Nate did the only thing he could do short of calling out and alerting the guy.

Instead of doing something to Daniel … Nate telekinetically nudged the bag right next to Kate's, which fell and emptied its contents on the gym floor and effectively drew the attention of every single person in the gym to Daniel just as Daniel had opened up the container in his hand showing that he had some kind of drugs on him.

But that was all the coach needed to make good on Annie's threat to deal with him mercilessly. Every teacher in the school that had spent more than a few minutes with Daniel DuBois was more than ready to take him out back by the trash cans, and drugs of any kind on school property violated the zero tolerance policy … which was how Daniel ended up interrupting cheerleading practice with the cheerleading coach dragging him down to the principal's office with a surprisingly strong grip.

And as Daniel was being escorted out, Nate made his way down to where Kate was. "So … I guess practice is out early today, huh?" He was doing his best to keep from making a scene, but he did project to Kate what had happened. So, your stalker tried to escalate with drugs. I don't know what they were or how he was going to try it, but he was definitely trying to do something with your bag.

Can you hear what the teachers are thinking? Kate asked, their usual flirty rapport missing entirely as both of them were still set in damage control.

Just that they're not surprised that it's drugs, Nate said. Don't know what kind it is, either.

We have to tell my dad, Kate said. This is exactly the kind of thing he needs to know about, as much as I hate to say it.

Yeah, if he found out this happened without you telling him, it'd be bad.

Kate bounced on the balls of her feet for a moment, then came to a decision. Let's get ice cream first … then you can drop me off at home.

Ah, no. I'll go with you to tell him. They'll probably appreciate the little bits of insight I've got from the coach and the teachers.

Once they did get all the way to Kate's building, it was clear Clint knew something was up as soon as he saw Nate. Since Janice was down again, it was pretty normal for Nate to drop her off, but not to come up … so when he saw both of them, he frowned slightly and waited for someone to speak up before he had to ask.

But Kate looked a little anxious about admitting that someone had tried to either frame her for drugs or slip them to her after having thought about it for a good, long while. So it was Nate who spoke up.

"Danny DuBois was caught with drugs and Kate's backpack," he said, then held up one hand. "I don't know what kind of drugs they were or what exactly he was trying to do, but he was caught. We stuck around the school just long enough for me to 'hear' that he was suspended. But … we thought you'd want to know."

"Thanks," Clint almost breathed out, his expression one of determined rage. He stood there, taking in every detail between the two teenagers, then nodded to himself, picked up a bag he kept near the door, and simply headed out with nothing more than a quick "Stay with your siblings inside, please" before he just …. left, with Kate and Nate staring after him.

For just a second, there was silence in the room. And then, Kate turned to Nate, her eyes wide. "The last time he left without Mom after something like this, it was because some guy had made graphic remarks about Mom when Mom wasn't around to hear it."

Nate kept his arm around her. "Not even gonna blame him, considering what that guy was up to."

"He's got Hydra ties. I'm actually not even surprised he tried to grab me. I'm more surprised that he didn't try it at the swordfight."

"Yeah, and that's what worries me," Nate pointed out. "And that's what's worrying your dad." Nate turned her way with one eyebrow raised. "If this was as simple as an attempted kidnapping, why didn't he do something when you were stupidly alone in his territory?"

Kate hit him in the chest. "Really?"

"I'm just saying."

"Yeah, yeah, you're all wound up and protective." Kate stuck her tongue out at him. "And annoying. What, I can't get competitive sometimes?"

"Not if it makes you stupid."

"Watch it, Summers. You may be cute, but you're also a big, stupid jock yourself, you know."

"If that's what you want to tell yourself," Nate said.

"It is, because I'm right," Kate insisted. "Because who the heck calls their girlfriend stupid if they ever want sex again?" She put both hands on her hips and purposefully stepped out of his grip. "Hmm?"

"What kind of amazingly smart and gorgeous girl completely forgets everything she grew up with just because some loser goads her into it?" Nate shrugged. "Everyone is entitled to stupid moments. Not the same thing as saying you are stupid. Case in point … well … take your pick. We know a few really smart people that do indescribably stupid things."

"A few." Kate had her arms crossed as she considered Nate. "You're still a stupid jock. For the record," she muttered. "But, you know, thanks for having my back at practice." She allowed herself to slip into a small smirk. "All the other girls wish they had such a supportive guy."

"All the other girls have only been worried about what their date looks like," Nate pointed out before he pulled her into another kiss. "They'll get better next time they pick a guy. In college. Probably. I hope."

"Probably," she said and finally gave in to fall into longer kisses and stop trying to be upset with him, even jokingly.

Billy was honestly happy to help the new kid. Really, he was. Vojteck was a nice enough guy - quiet, soft-spoken, smart, quick-witted in his native tongue but so awkward in English that Billy found himself smiling when he could see this new … friend? struggling to communicate when otherwise it would have been an amazingly funny joke. But he didn't seem to be getting any better with his English, and it was just … frustrating.

If he wasn't so clingy, he'd have a shot at finding another friend, but the other students seemed to shy away from the guy who couldn't leave the princes alone. And now that Mia had mentioned it, Billy could almost see the flirting Vojteck was doing … if it wasn't for the fact that not one bit of it seemed genuine. Either he was the worst flirt ever to hit the planet or he was trying to use Billy as his experiment in dating guys. Which just wasn't going to happen.

Oddly enough, if not for the clinginess, he … was pretty good-looking. Those vividly green eyes were hard to look away from. Which made it seem odder that his flirts were so … pitiful. The guy had plenty of material to work with. So, Billy found himself half watching the guy while they were studying, trying to figure out if his own sense of things with this guy was just … off. But that … that had never happened before.

He turned his attention back to his biology homework, and not ten minutes later, Vojteck cleared his throat, trying to get Billy's attention … not that he had anyone else there to talk to. Billy looked up at him, not sure what to expect when Vojteck usually had precious little to say outside of asking for help with one thing or another. "After studying, would you want to go to Salem Center with me?" Vojteck asked at last.

"Is there something you need down there?" Billy asked, not realizing what Vojteck was trying to get at, even after Mia had pointed it out.

Vojteck hemmed, trying to find the right phrase before he settled on: "I want to thank you for helping me all the time. And apologize for taking so much time. I know you have things to do, but … you are first person to …" He paused, trying to find the word that would fit. ".. care."

"What?" Billy said, sure that Vojteck had used the wrong word or exaggerated accidentally.

"My father is dead," Vojteck said. "My mother … not so good mother. She only like my sister, who is terrible." He smiled ruefully at Billy. "So I am still … not good to talk when I know everyone want to not …." He shrugged. "I understand, of course. But I wanted to thank you."

Billy paused. He hadn't expected anything like that, though when he thought about it, there were certainly plenty of signs to show that Vojteck had a troubled past. "Well … you're welcome," Billy said, then gestured toward the front door. "I don't have my license to drive alone yet, but maybe … if you want to talk a little, we could just … take a walk. Stay on the grounds."

"That will make it very hard for me to buy you a coffee or … dinner?"

For an instant, Billy's ears turned red, and the slightest blush graced his cheeks, high. "Voj, really … that's very sweet, but I'm seeing someone. And we're serious."

"Are you sure?" Vojteck asked, then smiled crookedly. "I do not mean to pry, but … I know for a fact that you and I …"

"No. No, I'm very sure," Billy said. "You're a really nice guy, but no. I'm happy to show you around and help you find your way through the whole shift in how to deal with people in this country, but I'm happy with my guy."

"I've made a fool of myself," Vojteck said, blushing as he kept his gaze pointed at the ground between them. "I won't bother you again-"

"That's a little bit of overkill," Billy said, realizing that Vojteck really did need someone to talk to. Now. "Let's just … let's go for a walk. Tell me about how horrible your sister is."

"Your brother is a dream sibling," Vojteck said with a teasing smile.

"You poor mistreated soul."

By the time Billy could get a break to slip over to Massachusetts when he didn't feel guilty about leaving Vojteck - who truly had what sounded like the worst family in the universe - he wasn't really thinking about what he'd find when he got there. So after hearing how James had described Franklin, Billy absolutely wasn't expecting a guy that looked almost as if he could pass for a very young Johnny Storm with dark hair and a carefree smile. Whatever James thought qualified Franklin as a dork … it wasn't anywhere near the qualifiers Billy had in mind.

Not only that, but Billy really wasn't expecting to find the two geniuses at the dining room table going over notes for something with their heads together and laughing.

James had looked up as soon as Billy appeared, of course, and broke into a warm smile, but that really didn't help the image Billy was seeing … to find his boyfriend hanging out in close quarters with a cute genius and smiling. It left a sour taste in his mouth almost on sight. Before Billy could say a word, though, James was on his feet and headed toward Billy, and Billy was doing everything he could to try and push down the initial shock he was dealing with knowing that James would pick up on it in a heartbeat.

But it was clear right away that James wasn't expecting the shock coming off of Billy when the smile slipped and everything about James' demeanor shifted to concern. "Are you alright? Is - did something happen?" James asked quietly, to keep Franklin out of it.

Billy was still trying to take in the details … the house was very clearly no longer reflective of just James, as evidenced by a few of Franklin's things here and there in plain view. It was a lot more overt than anything he and James had done when he was living there. And the boldness of it was rubbing Billy the wrong way.

He glanced over at Franklin, who seemed entirely ignorant of anything that was going on around him, then turned his focus back to James, trying to keep his temper and ugly frustration in check. "What exactly is going on?" Billy asked in a soft but still harsh-sounding whisper that he clearly meant just for James. "Why is your dad okay with him moving in, but not me?"

James' shoulders relaxed, and he shook his head lightly. "This is entirely different, sweetheart."

"Don't -"

"Come on," James said, gently taking Billy's hand to lead him upstairs. Billy very nearly fought him on it, but curiosity about what might be said, shock at the coziness of the situation, and sheer nosiness about where else Franklin had settled in won out over the desire to get his answers instantly and on the spot.

James honestly didn't see why Billy was so mad, so quickly, either, and he was still fairly relaxed as he led the way up to his bedroom and closed the door behind them. But he didn't get a chance to get a word out before Billy turned on him looking as if his fury was only building. And James had no idea what he'd done to elicit a reaction like that. "Handsome-"

"Yeah, he's a lot better-looking than you said," Billy said, which only set James back a little more.

"So he grew out of his pencil neck geek look," James said, unintentionally taking up a more defensive tone and stance. "Who cares?"

"I care," Billy shot back. "What's really going on? Is this some-"

"He's here to lecture at Harvard," James cut in. "That's it."

"You two seemed pretty cozy for just roommates."

James blinked at him, clearly not having expected this angle at all. "He was showing me the theory he's working on for the lecture and trying to translate it to more relatable terms."

"Right. And your dad's okay with you studying with him?"

"Billy, you've got it all wrong if you think Franklin and I have ever been anything more than friends."

"Not that you couldn't be, though," Billy countered. "You have a lot in common, after all."

"Not that much," James argued.

Billy looked as if he was thinking it over for a long moment. "Are you trying to break up with me?"

James looked as if he'd been hit with cold water. "You can't be serious."

"I am dead serious," Billy said, then gestured behind him. "You told me this random guy wanted to move in with you-"

"Temporarily-"

"-and then you utterly failed to tell me anything about him outside of he was a genius-"

"-he's only here for a few weeks-"

"-you just forgot to mention that he's cute-"

"-I didn't realize you were looking-"

"-it's like you told me just enough to get my guard down while leaving out the big picture, just like every other time you've glossed over the big stuff-"

"That's not fair."

"-and it doesn't exactly leave me feeling like you'd even tell me until after you moved on if you decided you didn't love me anymore. If history's any indicator, I'd be the last to know."

By that point, James was mad, too, hurt and unable to argue the accusations with any real proof when there was no proof to support Billy's concerns either. His jaw locked down, and he found himself slowly taking measured breaths as Billy glared at him, and for just an instant, it was all he could do to keep from growling.

"Billy," James said in a very controlled tone. "I am now and have only ever been friends with Franklin. It's entirely platonic - and always will be. I don't know how I can prove that to you, but it's the truth. Like it or not, if you don't want to break up with me, you're just going to have to figure out a way to stoop to trusting me on this one thing. Believe it or don't, but I do love you and I'm not trying to change that. At all."

"If I moved in with a cute guy, would you trust me?"

"Yes." James managed to crack a smile. "Doesn't mean I'd trust him."

Billy paused for just a second at the tease and then shook his head. "Okay, cute, but still. You can't move in with me but you can move in with him and how am I not supposed to take this personally?"

"I don't even know what to tell you. He's a friend. He's about as appealing to me as Nate is - and Dad knows it."

Billy blew out all his breath from his cheeks. "Yeah. Well. Still feels a little bit like sabotage. Having to share you when we barely get to see each other," he admitted, though when James wasn't rising to Billy's level of drama, he was deflating fast, utterly unable to build up any more anger when James was being so reasonable. "You get a roommate and I get assigned a clingy new kid - and suddenly, poof! Alone time evaporates!"

"Tell me about your clingy kid, little prince," James said as he took the time to gently pull Billy closer and steal a kiss while he was starting to lose some of the drama.

Billy couldn't help but smile at him, even if he truly had been worked up. "It's not really his fault," he clarified. "He's got a heavy accent, so it's hard for him to be understood. But that means it's usually me or Tommy who has to translate, and as much as I feel for the guy, I barely see you as it is!"

"So tell Tommy to suck it up and step it up, since he gets to see Mia all the time," James pointed out, carefully peppering him with little kisses. "Only fair."

"True."

"Besides … we're going to need to make some time, since I have a birthday creepin' around the corner, and I know who I want to be with."

Billy would probably have made a more dramatic face if James wasn't so effectively distracting him. "Right. You'll be an adult."

"I know. Major disappointment."

"Only until I'm one too," Billy said. "Stupid limelight. How come we both have PR to think about, huh? Can't just be us…" He shook his head. "Sorry. I'm just mad, okay? The whole thing stinks."

"I know. Sorry that I'm your other grandpa's favorite. Life would be easier all around if I hit it right in the middle instead of at the extremes all the time."

"You're hilarious."

"Will you please stay for a little while? You might want to actually meet him before you make a snap decision on all of this," James said.

Billy still didn't look happy at all, but he quietly agreed and let James lead the way back downstairs, where Franklin was half frowning at their return. "Everything okay?" Franklin asked as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Peachy," James replied, then put his arm around Billy's waist to lead him over to Franklin. "I have been a horrible host. You two haven't met yet. Franklin Richards, meet Billy Maximoff."

Franklin lit up as he offered Billy his hand to shake. "Crown prince to Genosha, right? What in the world did James do to catch your eye? Parade around shirtless or less?"

"Nice, Frank. Real nice," James said, half rolling his eyes.

"Well it can't be anything else," Franklin offered with a grin, though Billy was frowning at that, too.

"It was the everything else that kept my attention," Billy said as he shook Franklin's hand.

"Yeah, I just have to give him a hard time. See … he's got groupies here-"

"That's enough," James said, shaking his head and not at all in the mood to listen to this again, especially when Billy was already having trouble dealing with Franklin. He didn't want to deal with whatever jealousy Billy might have when faced with a pretty girl flirting with him. Especially when Billy knew James didn't do well when it came to making girls keep their hands to themselves due to years of self-conditioning.

"I don't think it is," Franklin said. "Sure, some of the people at MIT are standoffish, but there is like … a whole flock of them at Harvard."

"He's making things up," James said to Billy. "He does this … dreams up elaborate stories to irritate the crap out of people. Just like his Uncle Johnny."

"Oh, that reminds me, he said he's picking me up for the holiday weekend next week … Mom has a family activity she wants to do - she's even dragging Dad out of the lab, so I'm told."

"Valeria has something that needs doing in space, then?" James asked, and Franklin shrugged and nodded. "So that means Bobby will be here to be a pain. Perfect."

Franklin smiled wider at that. "At least I'm not riding with him." He turned toward Billy. "We were just getting ready to order dinner. Do you feel like Chinese?"

"Sure," Billy said, then belatedly took one of the menus on the table, picking out the one that corresponded to a place nearby to suggest the right delivery, since James and Franklin had a few different menu options out.

Once their order was placed, James and Billy headed for the living room to spend a few minutes. Both of them had grabbed a bottle of water, and for a long moment, James was perfectly happy to take all of Billy's cues to try and keep him at least to the level of calm he was displaying at that moment.

"Come on, what else can I do to get you out of your funk?" James asked in Billy's ear quietly.

"Um … admit you were wrong; that would be a start," Billy said.

"What was I wrong about? Franklin? Yeah, okay, he's not as nerdy looking as he was before."

"No, that's just part of it. I want you to admit you were wrong about the other part."

"What other part?"

Billy raised an eyebrow and leaned in close so they didn't disturb Franklin. "You said he was straight."

James frowned and looked between Billy and Franklin. "Um … he is?"

Billy laughed hollowly. "No. He's not."

James shook his head. "You're off about this."

"Never."

But James didn't look convinced at all. "You can't be right every time, sweetheart."

"No, but every time doesn't matter, because I am right this time."

James hummed to himself and decided the only way to handle this conversation was to kiss his way out of it … which certainly got Billy redirected for the time being, anyhow. And since they weren't arguing over petty things that probably didn't matter, they had a little time to get wrapped up - undisturbed by Franklin.

When the doorbell rang from the delivery driver, the boys broke apart, and Franklin sprang to his feet from where he was at the table. "I've got this one, guys!" he called out, and James and Billy sat up a little more. James took a moment to grab his bottle of water while Billy rearranged himself to watch Franklin as he got the door.

James followed Billy's line of sight, shaking his head in disbelief. "What are you doing?"

"Watching the show," Billy said. "The Chinese place I picked has the cutest delivery guy."

"Oh, that's good to know. You pick places based on how cute their delivery guys are," James muttered.

"I didn't do that part for me. I like their eggrolls best, too - but I wanted the cutest one because of him."

"Yeah, got it. You wanted the delivery guy, not the moo goo chicken," James muttered.

"Shush," Billy said, intent on watching Franklin at the door with the delivery driver, who, as he'd said, was very cute. And flirty. So naturally, Billy had to get James to see it. He took a hold of James' arm and jostled him as he was taking a drink of water, then hissed out 'look'.

The timing couldn't have been more perfect. As James turned his head, mid-drink, Franklin did his very best attempt at a flirt - wide, welcoming grin, upbeat tone right along with all the body language that showed interest. But, when James had finally looked, Franklin was asking for a phone number. Which was enough to get James to nearly choke on his water.

"Told you he wasn't straight," Billy whispered, entirely amused.

"No, no, I needed to clear my sinuses," James said flatly. "Jeez, warn a guy."

"Um … I did. A few times. You just didn't believe me."

"Point made. I was so very wrong. What was your tipoff?"

"Only everything he said. Ever," Billy laughed.

"Ever?"

"Well … since I came over tonight and his estimation of how you caught my attention."

"Was he wrong?"

"Shut up. Yes. He was wrong. It was the snarl and … stuff."

"Mmhmm. You still don't have anything to worry about," James said before he leaned in for a kiss. "Especially since he has a thing for cute delivery boys."