A/N - Happy Easter and Chag Pesach Sameach! Much love to our followers and reviewers, robbiepoo2341 and I are always tickled to see your thoughts, read the rants, and generally enjoy that someone out there is enjoying this as much as we are. Practically An Avenger and X-MenOverAvengers, as always, gold stars. We won't speculate with you on where the kids are headed or what's going on, but we will give you another chapter, and hopefully the gap won't be TOO long next time around. Enjoy!

Chapter 109-The Old College Try

From the moment James had mentioned to Scott during their fishing trip that some of the colleges had been showing an interest in him, Scott had started to pay attention to his middle kid's behavior and how he was handling phone calls and emails … and the upswing in interest from reporters, generally speaking. And what he saw was a kid that didn't want to play the ass kissing game most of the officials were firing up to lure him to tour their schools.

So he did what any good father would do and stepped in to handle it for him as much as he could ahead of actually meeting these people in person. He covered scheduling out the tours, talks, arranging for recruiters to get time to give their pitch so James could decide who to talk to and who not to talk to, and as the days moved quickly, he chaperoned visits to scan for trouble.

But at every tour, the routine quickly became the same. Once the university press -and others - wanted to take pictures, Scott bowed out. He was proud of the way James was handling things, and he did want to be there for him, but he was hanging onto his last shred of privacy with both hands - not to mention he knew for a fact that he didn't have the emotional bandwidth to handle it if anyone put together who he was and started asking questions.

Scott went to the nearest place with coffee, ordered himself whatever looked decent, and sat down, half shielding his eyes - and not just because he was tired. He was also doing a more in-depth scan for threats since James was a public figure with a target on his back.

He'd just finished a scan when someone sat down at his table, and he quickly switched from his scan back to normal vision - only to frown when he realized it was Emma Frost.

At first, she didn't say anything at all, hoping her simmering silence would speak for itself. But when he didn't give her a decent opening, she went for all she could. "Nice to see that you're alive. I imagine you're with the circus that's taking up too much space with all the board and faculty?"

"Hello, Emma," Scott said, letting his hand drop away from his face. "It's been a long time."

She hummed to herself and picked up her tea. "Why is that, I wonder?" she said, testing the waters to see what he'd do in public. Or how far she could push his manners.

Scott gave her a dry look. "It probably has something to do with having suddenly become a single father," he said.

She arched an eyebrow. "Well I won't go so far as to say I could have helped with that, but it would have been nice to know you were alive."

"No, you wouldn't have helped," Scott said simply. "What do you want, Emma? You wouldn't be here if you weren't after something."

"At the moment, a cup of tea," she said shortly. "I have two students that were expecting a tour today - only to be sidelined by Stark's little protege."

"And he keeps telling them to cut that out and give him a chance to do a normal tour," Scott said.

"Then he's delusional," Emma said thickly. "They're trying to get him to choose their institution. They'll pull out the stops. He has them competing for him."

"Yeah, nice to see them acknowledging how brilliant he is. You remember how the last school was," Scott pointed out.

"I do," Emma agreed. "He should have let me help him. Might have avoided that nasty little affair." She raised her cup again. "It was quite the stir."

"And we're done here," Scott said, getting to his feet.

"What has you so overly sensitive, Scott?" Emma said, her voice raised enough to draw the attention of a few tables nearest them. "I could have advocated to stop those ludicrous restrictions."

"Go take a tour, Emma," Scott replied as he walked away from the table.

"I can't," she said, looking properly irritated. "That boy is disrupting the whole school."

"Stole your red carpet right out from under you, huh? Damn shame," Scott said as he hit the door.

Emma narrowed her eyes as he left, but got up to follow him out. And she made her point to get him to stop by making everyone around them freeze. "Where are you in such a rush to?" she called out. "What did I do this time?"

Scott let out a frustrated sound when he saw everyone stopped around them and turned to face her, gesturing at the frozen kids. "Really?"

She echoed his gesture. "I assumed you were trying to keep from making a scene, but I'm afraid I may have tripped over some hidden issues that I can't even begin to figure out. So rather than shout your name across the quad, I thought I'd go for more subtle."

Scott shook his head at that. "There are six different security cameras just in this area, all of which now know a telepath froze everyone in place, and you're putting me in the middle of it."

She kept her chin tipped up for a few seconds, then let her shoulders drop as she rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Alright, so I'm not used to taking that into consideration. Sue me." She crossed her arms and a second later, everyone fell back into their normal movements.

"Did it ever occur to you that I've managed to stay under the radar for fifteen years," Scott said as everyone got back to moving around them - though they were close enough that the conversation was relatively private.

"Honestly, until today I thought you were dead. I'm in a little bit of shock, so no. that didn't occur to me at all."

"The lack of glasses and the civilian clothes didn't even register? Come on, Emma," Scott said with his arms crossed. "You're smarter than that."

She gestured to herself. "In case you didn't notice, I'm not exactly strutting around in a cape either." She looked over her shoulder then leaned toward him slightly. "Most people go to college tours in civilian clothes."

Scott pinched the bridge of his nose. "Emma…"

"Then I guess I'm sorry to have bothered you," Emma said, honestly sounding put out.

"Well, you showed up to complain about my son and then caused a scene," Scott pointed out. "Not a great opener."

She blinked at him for a moment. "What?"

"You knew I was James's godfather," he pointed out.

"Yes, but I didn't realize that actually meant anything. I thought you were playing helpful handmaid to Stark."

Scott turned her way with his entire body. "The whole point of being his godfather," he said, "was that if anything happened to his parents, I'd watch out for James."

"I didn't realize…" Her whole expression shifted. "Scott, I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, me too," Scott said simply.

"He never said a word when I spoke to him - neither did Stark …"

"Because I asked them not to," Scott said. "No one knows - not outside the team. And I need you to keep it that way, Emma."

"Of course," Emma agreed quickly. "I just meant … Stark thinks of him as his."

"Yeah, I'm aware."

She caught his gaze, smiling crookedly. "Then I truly am sorry. All you've suffered just from co-parenting with Tony…"

Scott couldn't help but let out a soft laugh at that. "Yeah. He's a pain in the ass, but he helped keep James alive, so…"

"Tell me your boy's given him hell at least."

"Oh, he keeps him honest," Scott swore. "He's got his mother's wit."

"I did notice that, actually," Emma said, shaking her head before she let out another sigh. "I believe I owe you a coffee. You left yours on the table. I won't press for anything, and-" she gestured to the nearest camera. "Take a seat and get a drink. I'll go deal with your recordings."

Scott didn't see the point in refusing help, especially since it was a problem of Emma's own making, so he let his shoulders drop. "Thanks," he said.

"I'll be back soon. If you're gone, I understand, but I would like to catch up. Clearly I've missed a lot, and to be perfectly honest, my students are in the little crowd following your boy around."

Scott watched as Emma headed off and then let out a breath and slipped back into the coffee shop. He had never been good at telling Emma no, and the fact was, he was trying to be civil so James could have a tour in peace. And he didn't have the energy to fight with her anyway; he'd halfway dragged himself to the tour as it was.

When Emma came back, it was with a fresh tea and a couple of chocolate chip cookies - one of which she pushed over to Scott. "The guards erased the footage, though I stopped to snap a picture of the look on your son's face when the dean here tried to put a hand on his shoulder. Just for you." She slid her phone over, wearing a smirk as she picked up her tea.

Scott chuckled when he saw the picture. "God, I love that kid," he said, shaking his head with a smile before he handed the phone back to her.

"It is rather entertaining," she admitted, looking almost as though she didn't want to admit that much. "All of them seem to expect a young version of Stark … but that glare."

"It's been long enough, half of those reporters were too young when his father died to know better."

"The reporters, yes. The faculty? I have cataloged several people who had honest flashbacks when they made the connection as the boy gave them that look."

"Yeah? Any I should be concerned about?" Scott asked, leaning forward.

She tipped her head to the side. "I don't think so, but I'll get you a list."

"I appreciate it," Scott said.

"As I understand it from Tony, it's been a bit more subtle with the military that remember."

"Yeah, the Avengers going public with their support for mutants pushed half our problems underground. Not gone, but…"

"It did," Emma admitted. "I'm shocked, honestly. Not that it worked, but that they went ahead with it. Was that your brainchild or Captain America's?"

"His. It was too soon after it happened for me… I wasn't involved," Scott admitted.

"That's a shame," Emma said. "But he always was a little slow to catch up. Glad to see he's sticking to it so hard."

"He lost a good friend too. I think it woke them up to what we'd been dealing with," Scott admitted, letting his gaze drop.

"I don't think anyone was prepared when Logan died," Emma said. "Thought for sure he'd outlive all of us."

"Yeah, I did too," Scott said tightly, then swallowed. This wasn't going well; he'd been trying to get out of the house to convince his kids he was alright, and this conversation was going to do the opposite if it kept on this track.

"You know, I offered to help rebuild the school," Emma said. "And the Academy has a whole wing named for Jubilation."

"I didn't know that," Scott said softly. "About Jubilee, I mean."

"The girl left an impression," Emma said, smiling at her tea while she made a point not to stare at Scott's scars. She had a lot of questions - none of which would be answered in a public place. And she knew she had to make the right impression to get a chance to try in private. Then, she shored her voice up to almost scold him. "You know, I hated it when she went back to your school. I thought for sure it would return a level of respect, but it just became so boring without her."

Scott smiled softly. "She… she took out most of a wing of the institute defending our kids," he said.

"Of course she did," Emma said, matching his tone.

Scott was quiet for a moment and then cleared his throat. "Sorry," he said. "I just…"

"No, don't be. I don't think I've been able to talk about them … ever. It's nice to think of her … and that wretched yellow coat."

"I was going to start training her to take over for me when I needed the break," he said.

"She would have been magnificent," Emma promised, then covered her mouth with the back of her hand. "I'm taking up too much of your time."

"It's fine," he said.

"No, it's not," Emma said as she started to gather her things again. "It was foolish for me to bother you." She smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. "If you'd wanted to talk to me, you've had years to do it. So … I'll go. But my door is open, and I'm sure you know how to reach me if you want to."

"Come on, Emma, that's not fair," Scott said quietly.

"Maybe not, but, your son's following is starting to disperse a little bit, and I don't mind telling you that if you want to keep your cover, you would do well to go to whatever spot you and he decided on earlier. My students are very sharp and I have no doubt they'd recognize you. Even as you are." She smiled tightly and offered him her hand.

Scott shook his head and got to his feet. "Thanks - it's been a long time," he said and pulled her into a hug.

"Maybe I'll see you around," Emma said. "Though next week, my hopefuls will be on the other side of the country."

"Then you won't see us for a bit; that's not where we're headed next," Scott said.

She hesitated, halfway smiling as she turned to leave. "It all makes so much sense now," she said, half laughing, just because she knew he'd catch it.

"What does?" he asked.

"That kid of yours," she said, raising one eyebrow. "He thinks too far ahead."

"And I'm proud of him for that," Scott agreed, smiling her way, though he was distracted when James's phone rang - and since James was busy, Scott was fielding that kind of thing, in case it was one of the colleges calling about schedules and tours.

"Good afternoon, this is Betty Brant from the Daily Bugle," a pleasant voice said by way of introduction. "I'd like to speak to whoever is in charge of scheduling for James Howlett to set up an interview for Mr. Jameson's program. What times are available this week, and if not this week than next?"

Scott blinked a couple of times, straightened up, and shook his head before he'd even answered. "I'd have to talk to James," he said. "He's not keen on interviews at the best of times, and I don't think now's the best time."

"I understand completely," she said. "But I have to do my job, and unfortunately, that's going to be making a pain out of myself until I can set something up. Is there any time in the near future that works? Even as a pencilled in kind of situation?"

Scott let out a patient breath. "Miss Brant, I appreciate that this is your job, but you also have to know that between scheduling college tours and the multiple teams he's on, time is at a premium. And frankly, he's eighteen and needs a social life, too. Like I said, I'll talk to him, but I doubt this is high priority."

"I'm sure it's not," she said - and the smile was evident in her voice. "Do you have a way to take this number, or - you could do me a solid and make an appointment sometime in the next few days, then cancel it. Mr. Jameson won't know the difference."

"I have your number," Scott said simply.

"Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you, Mr-"

"Thank you, Miss Brant," Scott said and hung up.

"Well that was a little less warm than I'm used to hearing from you," Emma said after a few moments.

"It was different when they were asking after me," Scott pointed out.

"I'm well aware," Emma replied, tapping her fingers on her drink. "You know, if they're being too invasive, I could help-"

"Stark's got that covered," Scott said. "It's the whole damn reason I even agreed to his idea, so he can pull his weight."

"Fair enough," she said airly. "But if you find his style doesn't suit you, this is one of my specialties, darling."

Scott shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, really - but I only trust a handful of people with James. And he's made it pretty clear he doesn't trust you. That's an automatic disqualification."

"I hope that proves to be a temporary outlook," Emma said. "I know Stark has his opinions."

"Emma, it was nice to catch up with you and reminisce, but I've got to go meet up with James now," Scott said as he simply started to walk away. He wasn't in the mood to remind her how she'd lost James's trust, and he didn't feel like hashing it out, so he just left to go find his son.

While James was wildly uncomfortable with the big push from the press and the way each school so far was trying to win him over, he knew - deep down - that it was ultimately a good thing. The anti-mutant protesters at the colleges were sparse. Incredibly sparse. The crowds of fans, though were only growing. James had been sure that his end of things had been quiet, so he wasn't sure where, in the collegiate chain of authority his locations were getting leaked - but they were, and it wasn't just the student press corps and paparazzi that were showing up. Legitimate, main stream news providers were starting to show up, and James tried very hard to keep his focus away from any of them.

He really did want to get a layout of the schools he was considering and an idea of how academia worked for each campus. So it was frustrating when he and Scott showed up here to find faculty waiting for him instead of a student guide like any other prospective student would have. James listened to the dean as long as he could before he finally stopped the tour, not long after Scott left it, to request a student guide.

"I'm not trying to make a scene," James told the man quietly, away from the entourage that the college had sent. "But I don't expect to be with a pack of advisors and staff every minute I'm here, and I'm not planning on teaching, so … please. Any student capable of giving a basic tour is all I'm looking for."

"Our faculty planned out a whole demonstration," the man told him quietly. "Catered to the kind of focus that your previous work from MIT could build on. A student wouldn't know how to show you what we're capable of - not at the level you're working, anyhow."

"With all due respect, I don't need someone to tell me what I can accomplish," James replied. "I do, however, need to know what actually going to school is like here. Your staff can't do that."

The man paused, but seeing as his entire presentation was being derailed, he handled it extremely well. "How about a compromise? I'll call student services and see if there's someone that's not conducting general tours that can meet us after the focused presentation. It would take us that long to pull it together anyhow." The man held both hands out at his sides, palms up. "I'm sorry, we really were expecting a bigger production … your ah … I'm not sure what to call him …"

"Mr. Stark is fine for reference," James said with an understated smile. "That's how most people refer to him when they're talking to me."

The dean laughed nervously. "Of course. It's our experience that Mr. Stark expects pageantry."

"He does," James agreed. "But I am not him. I don't need to be entertained."

The dean relaxed incrementally. "Then I think we may be able to work with that." He cleared his throat and put one hand at James' shoulder to direct him but quickly pulled his hand back when James turned to stare at his hand until the man removed it. "Apologies." He was on the phone as he led the way with James and the entourage of staff and student reporters following to give an abbreviated presentation while the dean called for back up.

James was almost surprised when he turned at the end of the presentation to meet his new guide for the rest of the tour - a bubbly, bright, and very nervous young woman named Lauren, who they had clearly chosen for her appearance first and foremost. So James went out of his way to be kind to her.

He kept his mouth shut as they did their tour, only to interrupt once as she nervously rushed through her script to tell the photographers and reporters to back off. She was knowledgeable - and knew the college inside and out, and she was able to give James answers about what to do and where to go outside of class that didn't sound like it had fallen out of a google suggestion. And the more he asked her about day to day things - down to earth things - the more relaxed she got. Once she'd gone through everything she could think of, and she'd shown him through the library - even to her favorite study nook there - James had one more question for her that he needed to know.

"You've been a great guide," James told her warmly. "And I want to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule. I'm sure you weren't on the schedule today."

She laughed nervously as she pushed a wisp of hair behind her ear. "Honestly, no, I wasn't."

"Would I be out of line if I asked you about what you've seen on how they treat women and minorities?" James asked quietly. "You can whisper if you're afraid to be overheard, but I got a weird vibe with one of those professors, so … minorities. Mutants - and how seriously do they take women's safety into mind?"

She stammered for a moment, unsure of what he was looking for. "I … I really don't …"

"If they're lax in any of those areas, I need to know," James told her. "It won't make much of a difference on my decision on where to go, but it will make a difference on how to approach this place. Do you feel safe?"

She smiled reflexively, too broadly, then shook her head 'no'.

"I didn't think so," James said quietly. "Who has it worst?"

"It depends on who's around," she said after a long moment of silence. "They're trying to turn their image around on mutants right now though, I mean … they're enforcing a ban on hate groups. So that's good, right?"

"Not if they're not protecting the young women, too," James said. "I've noticed that these places seem to focus on one group at a time. And the groups they don't focus on lose out."

"So … are you looking for the best one?" Lauren asked, frowning lightly and hoping she hadn't messed up.

"Not really, I'm still going for program first," James promised with a smile. "But I like to know what's going on. My last college was-"

"Oh, yeah, I heard all about it on Jameson's podcast," she said, nodding sagely.

"I doubt you heard all of it," James said before he could censor himself. "But … yeah. Honestly, the teachers were great. The students were afraid of me, so I didn't have many distractions."

"But … they blew it on safety," she said with a slow nod.

"On the other hand, they did fine by other students' safety, so that's really not my measuring stick."

They talked for a long while, but right about the time that Lauren was getting comfortably animated in their chat, the staff and reporters began pushing their way closer - which meant the tour was over. So, James thanked her and started the polite, terse 'thank you's and 'I'll let you know my decision soon' that seemed to be standard so far.

The walk to the car wasn't easy though. There was a gauntlet of reporters, paparazzi, students, clubs, fans, and a familiar face from James' first year at MIT. James paused, recognizing the professor from the lower level chemistry classes, who smiled at him, then very seriously shook his head 'no' from behind the dean's back as he pointed at the man.

That was clear enough confirmation of what he already suspected, so he paused to grant the student reporters a few questions and a picture before he headed to the rendezvous - with advisors still trying to win his favor right up until he dropped into the passenger seat and closed the door behind himself with a huff.

But then, his whole expression morphed from 'this is too much' to confusion, stillness, and then to a hard glare before he slowly turned his entire body toward Scott without a word.

Scott held up a hand. "I know. She came in complaining that her red carpet was snatched away."

"Why."

"Because she's used to being the VIP-"

"No. No. No. Why did you let her paw at you?"

Scott blinked, then shook his head. "No - we haven't seen each other since what happened with Graydon Creed. She named a wing after Jubilee; she really did like her, and Jubes always gets so glossed over. It was… nice to hear someone put her first."

James stared at him in disbelief for a long moment. "How much friggin' time did you spend with her?"

"Not that long - mostly, she wanted to get on my case for letting her think I've been dead this whole time, to be honest…"

"I'll bet she did."

"James, really."

"Yeah. Really."

Scott dragged a hand down his face. "Look," he said. "I know - I know - you're worried-"

"No, no. I get it. Don't worry about it. We have to hurry back to the city. I'm pretty sure I have high tea set up with Voj."

"You're hilarious," Scott said dryly.

"Same thing. More or less."

"James, I can't ignore the fact that she was part of my life and she and Jubilee did get along-"

James frowned deeper somehow. "Yes. You can. When someone isn't good to have around, you cut them out and put them in the past." he gestured ahead of them. "Wait. I'm sure Craig will back me up, even if I don't talk to him anymore. So I'll let him handle it."

"For crying out- I have one conversation - James, the only reason we ever talked is that I didn't want to cause a scene or draw attention. I'm trying to keep hold of the one shred of privacy I have left, so yes, I was civil," Scott said sharply.

James lost most of his glare and shifted his focus to his hands. "Okay. I'm just … I need to know you're okay, and I don't trust that woman not to try something."

"Frankly, neither do I," Scott said. He let his shoulders drop. "We're on the same team, James."

"I'll get a new inducer worked up for you tonight."

"Thanks." Scott took a deep breath and let it out. "So… Columbia turned into a circus, huh?"

"Not really. No worse than Georgetown. Just …they're all trying too hard." He caught Scott's attention at the next light, knowing full well that he'd expect a full run down. "They didn't know how to react when I told them I wasn't going to accept any of their prestigious scholarships. It was a nice gesture, but …I don't need it, and when I pick one, I'm not going to take anything away from someone who could use it."

Scott smirked at him for that. "But you haven't made a final decision?"

"I know it's not here." He kicked his feet out in front of himself. "They have a few good programs, but it's not as competitive as I want. It would be good for a different focus, though."

"Then we'll try the next place," Scott said, reaching over to ruffle James's hair. "Haven't said it today, so just so you know - I'm proud of you. You know that, right?"

"You can still be proud of me when grown adults are acting like that around me?"

"They're not my kids. I didn't raise fawning fanboys," Scott said with a crooked smirk. "Not my circus."

"Have you seen Nate around Hawkeye? It's so much worse than fawning fanboy."

"Okay, in his defense, he gets that entirely honestly, because I was even worse around Jean at that age."

"From you?" James teased. "I am shocked at this turn of events."

"Yeah, yeah," Scott grumbled good-naturedly. "Did you want to grab burgers or not?"

"Only if you do," James said.

"Honestly, I could use a good burger," Scott said as the light turned green and he made a left. "It's been a busy day."

"Yeah, these campus tours are like extended press conferences," James said.

"If you prefer, you can use the inducer and you can see the campus and get a feel for the student life without the full-court press."

"Believe it or not, I kinda need to do it this way," James admitted after a moment. "I'm not going to wear an inducer on campus if I can avoid it. It'd just tip people off that I use them… then that'd be a problem eventually."

"Fair enough. Just wanted to give you the option," Scott said.

"Yeah, well… speaking of options," James said slowly. "Jan's new uniform designs. Have you seen them?"

"Yeah, she wanted to run it by me in case it would give me a heart attack," Scott said, trying and failing to give him a dry smirk.

"Then you should know that I wanted to do it eventually anyhow," James said. "But I said a long time ago that I think I need to earn the yellow."

"You have," Scott promised immediately. "And I can promise you - with everything I am - he's just as proud of you as I am."

James' shoulders relaxed at that. "Okay. I also wasn't going to do it until you're okay with it, too."

"I think you'll be amazing," Scott promised. Then, because he couldn't resist, he added with a smirk, "You'll completely outshine him, too. He'd agree."

"Well, then you're probably both wrong, but …I think I'll be distancing from red to draw a line with Tony, if you want the truth." He smirked. "He needs it a little sometimes and the comparisons there are already too much."

"Always," Scott chuckled.

"I don't know about you," Nate said as he and Kate settled in to her new place. "But I don't think I'm cut out for college life."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I mean … what do I need a degree in anyhow?" Nate asked distractedly as he started pulling ingredients out of the cabinets as if he had done this far more often than he had. "Not like I need it to be a superhero. Which I already am."

Kate hopped up onto the counter, smirking to herself as she watched Nate work. After she'd officially graduated high school, she'd asked her parents for help moving out, and they gave her the apartment down the hall from the one the Summers family used for emergencies. The family who used to live there had moved, so the timing was just right. And all they asked was that she take care of the place. Rent was included in her Avengers salary, so really, all she had to do was figure out groceries with her stipend money, and that was that.

Having a telekinetic as powerful as Nate had definitely helped the move go quickly, especially because he just peeked in her head to see how she wanted the place arranged and had then placed everything where she wanted it to be, too. Which she loved about him. She loved it when he showed off - especially when he showed off by taking care of her.

But now, he was in her kitchen acting like he owned the place, and it was so sexy. She loved how much he felt like part of her home already and how comfortable he was with her and -

"-wait, are you making Miss Hale's banana bread?"

Nate paused to look up at her as if he'd been caught. "... maybe…"

Kate broke into a huge grin. "Did you pluck it from her head and archive it for stress relief?" She clapped her hands together, obviously delighted. "What else can you bake? Did you steal her cinnamon bun recipe? Can I get breakfast in bed?"

Nate let his shoulders drop. "Listen. With all the stupid going on, your choices are let me do this or I can make soup. Your call."

"Did I say I was stopping you?" Kate asked. "No, I did not. I think it's cute, actually. You bonded so hard with your future stepmom."

"Yeah, and now it's all a mess," Nate said. "And she won't talk to anyone, and the way it's going, that might not ever happen."

Kate hopped down from the counter and stole a kiss. "I don't know what's going on with her, because it came out of nowhere, but, I mean, my parents were on and off for years and worked it out. I don't believe in saying 'never' when it works as well as it does like for your dad and Miss Hale and for my parents."

"I'd go peek and see what's wrong myself, but Dad made me promise to keep out of it. I hate this stupid limbo nonsense." he pointed a finger at her. "And this isn't like whatever went on with your parents, I'm pretty sure."

"So… the part where they worked so well that only superheroics could break them up…"

"No, but I bet your Mom would tell you why they were on and off."

"Yeah, okay, so the metaphor isn't a one-to-one," Kate said. "I'm just trying to cheer you up. I know how much Annie means to you." She kissed him again. "I'm on your team, handsome."

Nate kept his focus lowered as he tried to come up with a reasonable response, but barring that, instead he said: "So what do you want in bed again?"

Kate's grin turned a little more playful. "Oh, I love you," she teased and pulled him into another kiss.

While the college tour was still ongoing, Scott answered James's phone when needed. He suspected James was trying to give him a project to keep him engaged with the world, but he also knew he couldn't back down, either. If he tried to turn down the project itself, that would only spark even more worries, and the last thing Scott needed was some kind of damn intervention in his living room with Toby or something.

Still, he was glad to turn down reporters trying to ride in on Jameson's coattails to a story, and he'd even gotten to the point where Betty Brant would call, acknowledge that she wasn't getting anywhere, and joke about it.

That, of course, only lasted until Jameson's patience started to wear thin - and Scott found himself answering the phone to hear Jameson himself on the other line.

"Listen, pal, I don't know what you're trying to pull here. You can give someone else the runaround, but that isn't going to work with me," Jameson said before Scott had even said more than 'hello.'

Scott pinched the bridge of his nose. "I've already said - multiple times - that I can't schedule anything. It's not a matter of trying to block you. He's in the middle of a college search in addition to participation on two teams. What the hell makes you people think that's a schedule open to fit in anything as time-consuming and stressful as a press appearance."

"And I'm very sure that he already knows where it is he's going and all of this is just for pageantry," Jameson shot back.

"No Howlett in this or any life does things for pageantry," Scott said dryly.

"I find that hard to believe considering his ties to Tony Stark. You can't tell me that this whole fiasco isn't a presentation and a way to rub it in MIT"s face."

"I can, actually. I did tell you that very thing."

Jameson sounded irritated, and Scott could almost hear him working over his mustache. "Listen. There is a lot to unpack with everything that has gone on just in the past year with that kid," he said patiently, though his temper was clearly rising. "Any direction I can take on this story is speculation without something from him - or … someone in that group that can be a reliable source. Hell. I'd take your statement. Anonymous. Fully protected from everyone. I just want some facts. You know …something that'll derail the idiots sensationalizing everything.."

"Sure," Scott said. "He's a kid trying to go to college and that's the extent of it."

"He's a kid that's been manipulated by Hydra, who was subverting colleges all over the world."

"Right, so your story is that Hydra has been manipulating people," Scott pointed out.

"No. That's like reporting that the sky's blue."

"No kidding," Scott said dryly. "Listen, I get that you've found someone famous and you're attached to this idea in your head of what you can make of this story, but-"

"Damnit, that's not it," Jameson blustered. "I refuse to let other reporters take my story and use it to sling mud. Unless, of course it's warranted - and my gut tells me that what they're saying isn't the story here. I just need …. Half an hour. Twenty minutes. Tops."

"Like I said, he's not doing interviews while he's touring, but I'll let him know you personally called," Scott said. "I appreciate you're trying to be accurate, and I'm glad to hear you're not throwing mud, but I, unfortunately, was not born with the mutation that lets me grant time outside of twenty-four hours in the day."

"No, you're just the guy writing up what those twenty four hours contain."

Scott laughed; he couldn't help it. "Jameson, if you knew anything, you'd know that there is no such thing as policing Wolverine."

Jameson paused for a moment, long enough that Scott could get through his amusement. "Is that a direct quote?"

"No, just lived experience," Scott said.

"Can you at least set something up after the dog and pony show screeches to a halt?"

"I'll let him make that call, but I will tell him you called," Scott promised, then hung up, still shaking his head at the whole situation.

Somehow, Scott felt as if he'd flipped the old scenario where he spoke in public and Logan kept people off his back on its head - and he wasn't entirely sure how that had happened. He stared at the phone for a long moment before he put it back into his pocket and looked across the quad as James tried to gracefully get away from the group of fawning potential classmates and staff. This time though, Scott was in a new inducer, and no one knew who he was, nor would they be able to, so instead of passively waiting until James could shake them, he made his way closer to take him by the arm and extricate him from the crowd.

And though Scott didn't look like himself, James knew it was him, so he went with it as Scott started to direct him on what was next. "We should get away from the school a little bit and grab some coffee before we hit the road."

"You find a place already?" James asked, though the last couple of hangers-on followed almost all the way up to the car they were using that was registered to Tony.

"Several," Scott agreed as they both climbed in with Scott at the wheel. Once the doors were closed, they fell into a now-weathered routine. "Well?"

James was quiet for a long moment, which at least told Scott that this tour had gone better than he'd expected. "Well," he said after a moment as Scott pulled up to a stop sign before turning onto the main road. "They have some impressive chops."

Scott's eyebrows rose and he turned toward James before he decided on where to go. "You sound surprised."

"I shouldn't be," James said. "But I am all the same."

"So this one isn't out entirely?"

"Not yet," James said, sounding surprised at that, himself.

"Wasn't expecting Yale to make that big of an impression."

"I knew they had good programs," James clarified. "I just … I guess I spent too much time in Cambridge."

Scott smiled, then turned down the road to the coffee shop he'd found that was highly rated by the students, not the adults, since … that might just be a viable place by the way James was talking.

They'd gotten a pattern down, and Scott was pretty in tune with how to handle James based on how he was doing after the tours … but since he was still actively thinking, Scott didn't want to interrupt that train of thought just yet. Not until James got out of his head and more into teasing and joking around a little. And the best way to do that was to give him a little coffee and some food.

The two of them waited in line, made their orders, then found a table to wait for their things to come to them. As was the case most of the time when they stepped out when James wasn't hiding who he was - which happened more and more often- there was a short period of hushed whispers and quiet conversation as recognition flowed through the spattering of college-age kids and other patrons of the coffee shop. And Scott watched as James's eyes shifted from left to right, obviously taking in the general consensus as Scott again scanned for trouble.

Neither of them had much to say while they waited, and it took that long for both of them to get a good handle on what was happening around them, though, when their waitress brought their orders over, James seemed a little more like himself and pulled off a reasonably friendly, if not weary interaction that left the girl smiling brightly at both of them as James pulled his latte over to himself.

Scott watched him as he discreetly sniffed the liquid before replacing the lid for a cautious sip, and the action was so reminiscent of Logan, Scott felt badly over all the kid had dealt with in the past year. Even if he, the original X-Men, and the Avengers prepared him meticulously, the kid was still finding ways to learn lessons he never should have had to deal with … and the paranoia over being poisoned again was well earned.

"Everything okay?" Scott asked.

"Yeah," James said, though he didn't touch his coffee again right away. Scott wasn't sure when James had started up this little habit of tasting and waiting on everything he got from someone else's hands, but since they'd been traveling to colleges, he'd noticed how James did that even with vending machine drinks. "Just easing into it."

Scott hummed to himself, but started on his coffee all the same, then waited until James actually started to relax enough to get partially through lunch with him before he decided to break the ice a little bit and let him know how the phone screening was going. "Hey," Scott started out. "So you know, JJ called personally while you were taking your tour. Now that it's him and not his secretary, he'll keep calling - but I can field him forever if that's what you want."

James looked up at him with an expression straight out of his father's playbook when something was unbelievably stupid. His eyebrows were drawn together, and his nose partially scrunched up. "Why?"

"Why would I field him, or why-"

"Why … as in … why? Doesn't he want to talk to someone that can actually answer him?"

Scott smirked. "He's a reporter, James. He wants to talk to the person he's reporting on first and foremost. Everyone else is just supporting testimony."

"That would be a very boring interview for him," James said, though he looked as if he was thinking it over. After a while, he looked up at Scott again. "And he called my phone? Not … I figured he'd go through Pepper."

"I'm pretty sure Pepper has told them where they can stick it," Scott pointed out.

"She's amazing," James said with a nod before he started picking at his scone. He was quiet for a long moment. "I didn't realize he was pestering that much. I've just been letting it go to voicemail when its not a contact."

"And you haven't been checking your voicemail," Scott guessed.

"Not really, no," James admitted. "I can start texting back some of them."

"I've got it covered. You focus on what school you'd like to go to in the fall."

"Alright, I'll try," James said, then blew out a breath. "Who's next?"

"Just a few more, really," Scott said. "Cornell is coming up after the conference with Tony." He smirked and tipped his head to catch James' gaze. "You just about ready to do the comparisons?"

"Let's get through that one first. This one is actually holding my attention better than I expected."

Scott's smirk widened. "Gathering all the data first?"

"Might as well," James agreed.

Scott smiled to himself. "When you're ready-"

"Yeah, I know. Not there yet," James said with a nod, but that only had Scott relaxing a little since he was thinking, and clearly, he was earnestly taking in all the options if he hadn't ruled Yale out yet. Which … made him feel a little better across the board simply because all of this wasn't just a handy distraction that his kid was using against him.

Jimmy Barton had made a habit of doing what Nate asked - and he had for years. Naturally, he'd give him a hard time about whatever it was, but this time, it just seemed … much more serious. And he knew Nate wouldn't have asked him to tail Uncle Scott unless it was with good reason … but Jimmy was just about as sneaky as his mother was, and getting better every day.

So he did exactly as Nate asked. He followed him, kept semi-close, and paid attention. He vaguely remembered how miserable Scott had been when Jan stopped coming to the apartment. So the fact that Annie had ended things with him … well. The whole Barton clan was watching carefully. But none as closely as Jimmy.

Since it was summer, he had time ad opportunity to follow Scott without the pesky trouble of school screwing up the day. So he used the cover of people milling around and close by parks to follow Scott as he kept his daytime activities far away from his part of the borough.

The first time he followed Scott to that area - well away from both Brooklyn Heights and Bed-Stuy - he wasn't sure what Scott was up to. But … Williamsburg really wasn't a bad area, so he didn't think Natasha would care too much if he followed him to one of the ritzier areas. That was, after all, why she'd been alright with this little assignment anyhow.

But when Scott picked a cafe and took a seat, Jimmy had to find something to do that wasn't overly obvious. Which, he could totally handle. And with all the tourists around trying to get the shot of the Williamsburg bridge, he could play that part off pretty easily.

In fact, just about everything about this coffee spot was one that went against Scott's usual pick. It was pretty public. There were lots of people around that weren't normally part of that area. Lots of extra cameras. Obvious non-New Yorkers everywhere. And it almost felt … uppity. Of course, that matched with the neighborhood, but it made his appearance in his normal street clothes totally a great cover. Touristy.

He was almost enjoying people watching when Emma freakin' Frost showed up and Greeted Scott as if this was a planned event.

"No futzing way," Jimmy said to no one in particular, then snapped a quick picture of the two of them at the cafe to send to Nate with the caption of 'is it just me, or does this look bad?'

As bad as it looked, though, Scott honestly hadn't expected to see Emma there. He was keenly aware of how worried everyone was about him and had started going to cafes to get his coffee and then go back home so at least he was getting out of the house. He didn't think that would get everyone completely off his back, but it would make them a little less overprotective - at least, that was the hope.

But he hadn't considered that Emma would frequent that area of town. And he was trying not to draw attention to himself when he didn't have the mental energy to do more than pretend to be a tourist. And since Emma was well-known, he was just trying to be polite.

If he was honest, he'd been looking for an excuse to get out of the conversation as it was. He didn't have it in him to make small talk with anyone, let alone someone with the complicated history he had with Emma - further complicated by what she'd pulled with James. He'd been scanning the crowd… so when he recognized Jimmy, he let out a soft sound and got to his feet.

"Sorry, Emma; one of my students is playing spy for my kids," he said without explaining himself further before he headed right to Jimmy and put his hand on the kid's shoulder.

Jimmy had been too busy texting Nate to notice Scott was coming until he was already headed his way, so he couldn't try to pretend he wasn't there. Instead, he gave Scott a crooked grin that looked just like his father - which almost looked out of place when he was in so many ways a carbon copy of his mother. "How come you're on a date with the White Queen?" Jimmy asked before Scott could say anything - using a tactic he'd learned from his mom to deflect questioning by playing interrogator first.

And it worked; Scott froze and stared at Jimmy before he steered him out of the cafe. Fast. He didn't even answer the question until they were well beyond the cafe, and even then, he said, "Don't say anything like that in public again."

"No one was looking our way."

"That doesn't mean anything," Scott said. "And you know it. I know your mother taught you better."

Jimmy shrugged his shoulders underneath Scott's hand. "No one ever pays attention to me," he pointed out.

And that much, actually, was true. To some extent. Jimmy was coming into a mutation, and it seemed to operate not quite at the telepathic level but on a subconscious level. He was still learning to use it, so at the moment, he couldn't do more than make people subconsciously ignore him, but Betsy was sure he had the potential to make anything or anyone functionally invisible and ignored.

Scott let out a long sigh. "I wasn't on a date," he said.

"Looked like it."

"I didn't know she'd be there."

"Okay," Jimmy said in a tone that clearly said he didn't believe Scott.

Scott sighed. "Does your mother know you're following me?"

"Yes."

Scott raised an eyebrow at Jimmy and then shook his head, taking out his phone to text Kate: Stop sending your minions after me. Then, he put his phone in his pocket. "Well, let's get you home," he said. "Truth be told, right now, you're my excuse to get out of there anyway."

Jimmy grinned up at him. "Well, look at that. Kate owes me five bucks."

"Do I want to know what you were betting on?"

"No, because if I keep doing it, I get more money."

Scott shook his head, but he couldn't help but smirk. "Alright, Jimmy."