A/N - I know my notes are getting unnecessarily short lately, but it's not for a lack of love. Many thanks to Practically An Avenger and X-MenOverAvengers for the reviews. We're still so glad you're with us!

Chapter 116 - While You Were Sleeping

"...so now I'm kinda sorta unofficially J. Jonah Jameson's source for the team?" Kate was sitting at a cafe with Billy, enjoying the privacy of one of his spells that kept people from listening in. Now that his powers were working again, she knew he was dying to get back to James, but everyone was highly stressed still, and they'd wanted to take some time just to hang out before going back to their respective traumatized Summers brothers.

Billy shook his head in pure disbelief. "We leave you alone for five minutes…"

"Yeah, I know. But he's not terrible when he's on our side."

"That qualifier is doing a lot of heavy lifting."

"Isn't it, though?" Kate leaned back and drank in the steam from her coffee. "Anyway, long story short, Nate's pulling his hair out and I've spent most of the last day cross-checking what's actually been classified by SHIELD and what I can get away with just pointing JJ in the right direction."

"Sounds stressful."

"Yeah, it is," she admitted. "But it's also way too fun to get around SHIELD and stick it to them."

"Right, I forget sometimes that you were raised by Black Widow," Billy teased.

"Peeks through about as often as Magneto peeks through for you."

"Touché."

Kate grinned crookedly at him. "Anyway, I'm totally wiped. I may take a page out of James's book and go re-center myself. Nate's family had a few safe houses stashed away, and a cabin in the woods does sound tempting."

Billy smiled and leaned forward, his eyes sparkling. "Take it from me: it can be a hugely romantic getaway."

"You're totally looking forward to camping with him, huh?"

Billy blushed and looked down at his almost-finished croissant. "I keep putting it off. I don't want to push him away by trying to be there for him when he wants to be alone."

Kate reached across the table to put her hand on his arm. "He knows you're respecting his boundaries, and he knows you love him. There's absolutely nothing wrong with showing up and then popping back home if he's still not ready. You can tease America. She and Rachel have agreed to keep an eye on Scott to prevent stupidity while Nate and I are gone for the weekend, and you know America hasn't had nearly enough teasing about integrating into the Summers family."

"Because she hasn't," Billy pointed out.

Kate pointed at him with her plastic fork. "Exactly. We totally need to razz her about how she and Rachel are always hidden away and conveniently escaping the drama."

"She'll point out that they're being smarter than the rest of us."

"Yeah, but we still have to tease her. It's a rule."

"Fair enough." Billy leaned back in his seat. "How's Nate, by the way?"

"Distraught, but that's no surprise. We all know how much he looks up to James, and I think I shook him when I admitted I had abandonment issues when I was a kid too."

"Yeah, you told me about that. And I feel bad; I know for a fact nobody ever wanted to make either of you worried that you weren't wanted."

Kate shrugged. "I'm okay. Mostly. I mean, we all have hangups. But it's different with James. I don't know how to explain it, but it just is."

"Yeah, I know."

"And I'll bet if he's ready to see you, being around you might cheer you both up," Kate said.

Billy smiled as he took another bite of his croissant. "I like how you have this Disney version of our relationship where love always conquers all the bad stuff we have to face."

"I'm not that far off."

"If you say so. But you know this means when you two get married you'll need to look like a Disney princess, right?"

"I will find the sparkliest tiara I can find just for you. I'll put Tony on it and everything. But that means you have to be in full princely regalia for yours."

"I mean … that was always going to be the case, but … sure. Deal."

When Billy finally wished himself to the cabin James had been in, he had a moment where he wondered if James had cut and run on him just for how quiet it was. There was a fresh blanket of snow on the ground with no tracks anywhere near the building, and Billy had a moment of worry on seeing not only that, but wondering how far north they were that felt like it needed freaking snowfall in June.

He turned with a shiver to go look in the cabin, since … he had nowhere else to go, no spell to work until he knew if his guy was gone, and if that was the case, did he even want to be followed?

When Billy got inside, the cabin was almost silent, and after quietly looking around the place, he found that James was curled up in bed, just waking up on hearing Billy come in. He didn't bother picking up his head when he saw who it was, either. "There you are," Billy said as he stepped into the room the rest of the way.

"Hi," James said softly.

"I stayed away for as long as I could. You're missing all the news," Billy said as he came over to kiss James' forehead since that's all that was sticking out of the blankets. He paused just before he did so, and James held his breath, but relaxed quickly as soon as Billy had kissed him.

"It's fine," James said, though he made no effort to move. "I've been sleeping."

"I see that. It's freezing in here. You're usually so good about keeping the fire up," Billy said before he simply kicked off his shoes and made his way around to the other side of the bed before he gently climbed in, sure to make a big deal out of carefully snuggling in and getting comfortable. It was a solid effort to allow James a chance to react without freaking him out, and Billy hoped a solid method. He was expecting James to freak out. It only made sense - though it was Billy that ended up holding his breath for a moment when James turned toward him and curled up with him, which was a vast improvement all the same. "How long have you been … are you okay?"

"I dunno. I'm just … tired," James replied, knowing that 'fine' would get him an argument he didn't have the energy for. Then, he snuggled down until he had his head on Billy's shoulder and his arm draped across his middle. "Thanks for giving me a day or two."

"It's … been longer than that," Billy said, resting a hand on the back of James' head and curling in a little better himself. "You missed some pretty big stuff. James - seriously. Annie asked your dad to get married! Nate and Kate took off for a break, Mia and Tommy are in trouble with Storm and Forge, and your Dad almost made it through his big announcement dinner without falling to pieces, but … sweetheart, he's so worried about you and you're just … hiding."

James didn't say anything though, and instead, he blew out a weary breath. He didn't know how to process most of what Billy had just said, but he knew that everything was a lot simpler when he was just out of everyone's way. Before he'd left, he'd heard plenty of speculation in the tabloids, after all, and none of it was something James wanted to listen to or deal with. "Can we not talk about that?"

"Right now or ever?"

"I don't know yet."

"Okay, but I think you're lost in your own thoughts," Billy said before he kissed the top of James' head.

James smirked to himself, relaxing a little better with Billy there, and surprising himself at how relaxed he was with him. "I don't want to think about it."

"Smart alec."

"You here to drag me back?"

"Um … no. I'm here to be with you if you want me to. We'll figure out when to go back later."

To answer, James gave him a little squeeze. "What part of this makes you think I don't want you here?"

"I had to check," Billy said, doubling down on his snuggle. "You're cold. I thought that never happened."

"I'm fine. Just got lazy."

"Lazy or depressed?"

"It's the same thing. I think."

"I don't think so," Billy said, then looked past James at the fireplace and wished a crackling blaze into existence as he pulled the blankets up a little better. He let a little time pass, then had to say what he thought James needed to hear. "You know your dad didn't say any of that, right? That was all Emma Frost."

"I know."

"Okay, but you don't know that I dealt with her. She'll never be able to do that to anyone ever again."

James didn't react more than to blink his eyes open for a long moment before he picked up his head to look up at Billy more squarely. "What does that mean - you 'dealt with her'?"

"I stripped her powers away. She's no longer a mutant." When James stared back at him in honest shock, Billy continued. "And then I wished her back under her rock."

It took a few seconds, but finally, James let out a breathless laugh in disbelief, then started to chuckle quietly - the infectious kind of laugh that Billy ended up being caught up in quickly as it built up, and when both of them were smiling, James grinned crookedly at him, then whispered out 'My hero' as he leaned forward to start a kiss that kept them curled up until Billy needed to wish the fire back into existence.

The boys couldn't stay tucked into the cabin in the Canadian Rockies forever, even if James would have preferred that above anything else. Eventually, Billy got the chance to fill in what had happened with more detail and made it clear that … they really couldn't stay there much longer. Both of them had responsibilities to go back to and James had several nervous parental figures that were pacing a hole in the floor - even if James' whole outlook on his family was temporarily skewed.

So, the boys started to close up the cabin - fully intending to return for a more relaxing week once things had settled out a little bit. But, James knew he needed to deal with trying to straighten things with his family, finish up a few more college tours, then officially announce his intentions for school once he'd gotten all the paperwork squared away. He just hadn't decided what order to deal with everything, so when they were ready to go, James made a point to give Billy a kiss and promise to meet him at the tower as soon as he could fly back.

But that gave Billy ample time to make sure Scott would be at the tower - if he wanted to.

By the time James flew in, the family was gathered and waiting, but Craig was the first one to greet him. He was waiting by the elevator so he'd be sure to catch the kid. When James stepped out, Craig was careful to keep a light touch. "Welcome back."

"Thanks," James said, understated and quiet, like he usually was when he was still hurt.

"Somethin' like that can't be easy to let roll off your back. Why don't you come have a seat with me for a little while?"

"Maybe another time," James said. When Craig looked openly let down, James clarified. "I'm not dodging you. I promise. I just don't have the energy to do that right now." Before he could get much further down the hallway, though, Tony caught up to him and pulled him into a tight bear hug.

"You alright?"

"Yeah."

"No you're not," Tony said, triggering James into holding on to him a little tighter. It was familiar for Tony because he had seen this look on James before - years ago when he was small. And drifting. And it only had Tony doubling down on his hug. "That's what I thought. You scared me, kid."

"I just wanted some quiet," James said. "I wasn't trying to mess anything up."

"Yeah, I know. Hey. Come on. You didn't mess anything up, but kid... you leave for a few days and half the city loses their minds," Tony said, gently guiding James down the hall even as Craig followed them a few paces back.

For Craig, it was like watching the two of them before, the two of them echoing each other and making sure to take care of each other, with Tony being exceedingly careful with James every step of the way. Tony held back from his usual teasing and picking just because contrary to popular belief, he could be incredibly tactful; he knew when not to pick. And he knew how to take care of his kid when he was hurting.

Scott was waiting for them in the living room - and was barely being held back by Jan.

And James, being James, couldn't help but try to break the ice when everything felt so … off. "Is this an intervention? What did I do now?"

"Not a thing wrong," Scott said as he pulled away from Jan and yanked James into a hug that , thankfully, was returned, even if James felt tense in Scott's arms.

"Are you alright?" James asked.

"Definitely not," Scott said, not about to let go as he half buried himself in the hug. "You know how it is when I can't fix something, especially for my kids."

"You don't have to fix anything," James said, though he held on a little tighter.

Scott didn't say anything in response except to pull James harder around the shoulders. James could hear the others leaving the room, and he could barely register Annie's hushed whispers, but he wasn't going to let up on the hug until Scott did, either. And when that happened, Scott still kept a hand on James's shoulder, like he was afraid to not be touching him and to lose him again. It was a familiar gesture - one that he'd done when things had gone sideways back when James was still little … and Scott had come to get him from whoever he'd been with. Mostly Tony.

"Come on," he said softly. "Let's go somewhere a little less busy."

James drew in a deep breath, but didn't argue it, instead falling into step with him, unsure of which way the talk was going to go, but sure it had to happen anyhow.

Once they got to James's lab, Scott shut the door behind them and then immediately pulled James into another hug. This one didn't last as long, though, and he stepped back to look James in the face, obviously searching his expression. "Not a thing she said was true, do you hear me?" he said, making sure to meet James's gaze.

"I know it wasn't you. I knew it then, too."

"Good." Scott rested his hands on James's shoulders, nodding to himself as he tried to find the right words and James waited. "Still, I just…"

"I'm sorry I broke your face."

Scott nearly laughed. "I'm really not worried about it," he promised. "Tyler fixed it easily enough, and besides, you did me a favor."

"I didn't pull my punch though. I shouldn't have been that rough."

Scott shrugged. "I promise, it's fine. Ask Alex sometime about the fights we used to have. If anything, it just shows she pushed strong buttons." He smirked. "But yeah, it was a good hit."

"Still feel bad about it," James admitted, shrugging his shoulders up a little.

"That's okay," Scott said. "I feel bad about everything else." He winced. "Sorry I managed to teach you my own bad habits like that."

"Like what?" James asked. "Did I miss the chapter where you beat down the pirate?"

"And swore at him. And hit him over and over again…"

"He probably liked it."

"Yeah, I know. I'm just saying…" Scott took a deep breath and let it out. "It bears repeating, you know? You're my kid. I literally had to fight off Tony Stark for you and I'm still not sure I won," he added, trying for a small tease. "You're always gonna be my son. I know Emma did everything in her power to screw things up every possible way she could, but I'm never going to stop loving you." He gestured vaguely with one hand. "So… right. That's… what I needed to say."

James' shoulders relaxed slightly at that, though, even if he was trying not to do anything that Scott might take wrong. "Tony didn't win. Obviously."

Scott couldn't hide his smile at that. "Well, small miracles," he said, then nodded to himself and let out his breath. "The rest of, well, everyone is going to want to say hi. I can absolutely redirect them if you need me to - except Annie. Obviously. Having a hard time telling her no right now," he said, his smile looking more natural at that.

"Yeah, Billy told me," James said. "Um … Congratulations - I can get out of your way if you're ready to go into planning mode with her."

Scott laughed. "We're not quite to that stage yet. She wanted to talk to her dad's memory care unit to see what she needs to do to make sure he's taken care of so he can attend. He's on oxygen and a few other things. Waiting to see what the timeline is before we do anything, really."

"So … you're eloping. Got it."

Scott smiled wider. "That's a real possibility," he admitted. "Might just be family-only. We'll see. Although I think Jan would die of disappointment. She's already following Annie around with dress sketches."

"She'll be fine." James had his hands in his hoodie pocket. "She always is."

"Something we have in common, then, huh?" Scott asked before, without a warning, he pulled James into another long, tight hug. "Missed you, by the way," he said softly.

"I wasn't gone that long," James said as he snuggled in. "And it sounds you had plenty good things to keep you occupied. But I'm sorry I left the way I did."

Scott shook his head. "No, you needed the space. God knows if I'd heard the professor say something like that I'd still be in Alaska, Emma Frost or no."

"Yeah, love you too. I know most of what she said was crap, but … I think I may have to prove her right on something."

"My first thought is 'please, God, no,' but…"

"Keep that in mind next time she's around," James said. "Because I am not going to give her the chance to screw with anyone again. I know Billy took away her powers, but I won't bat an eye when I kill her."

Scott was quiet for a long minute - though James had expected that and was just waiting for it. But then, Scott let his shoulders drop, and he closed his eyes. "I hate admitting it," he said quietly. "But, well, seems like you're following my lead again, huh? Crossing that line when the other side goes too far to come back."

"Following my nature, so I'm told," James said dryly.

"Sure, she can think that," Scott said, matching his dry tone.

"She's not the only one," James pointed out. "Jan told me to ignore the news, but I've never been able to block it out entirely. I try not to care about that, but it's hard to do."

"Good, don't," Scott agreed. "Probably the same people who called Kurt a demon or my team terrorists or Kate brainwashed for being an X-Man…"

"Sure, sure. But genetics do play a role and the world knows who my parents were. On top of that, I'm lined up to run the most successful weapons company in the world. It's just going to get worse. Might as well live up to it when it needs to be done."

Scott let out a breath and put his hand on James's shoulder again. "Just promise me you won't lose yourself to it. That's all I ask."

"I don't know what that even means," James admitted.

"Then trust me and the rest of your family - including Billy, by the way - to tell you if it happens," Scott said. "Deal?"

James nodded at that. "Okay, but … if you felt the need to intervene, wouldn't it already have gone too far?"

"Probably," Scott said. "But you're not there, and we're getting ahead of ourselves," he added. "Annie's dying to tell you about how she proposed. She knows Billy told you, but she's still dying to tell you anyway."

"Honestly, Im not surprised it went that way," James said. "Did she bring you flowers?"

Scott chuckled. "No, nothing like that."

"Bad prep…"

"It was a spontaneous proposal."

"Did she at least ask Nate and Rachel and the Phoenix's permission?"

Scott laughed. "No, nothing like that either."

"Strike two."

"Ah, but she asked me not long after telling me to pull my head out of my own ass, so she'd set a mood," Scott teased.

"So she angry-proposed. Alright, then. That wasn't on my bingo card." James returned Scott's gesture, resting one hand on his shoulder. "Are you safe?"

Scott laughed. "Very. I promise."

"Do you need a Panic button just for Southern rage? Blink twice if you're scared of your Southern Belle."

"I think I'll get by," Scott laughed again. "But the thought is appreciated."

"Just want to make sure you're going to be okay," James said with a muted smirk.

"Love you too," Scott said, smiling as they headed out - and predictably ran almost right into Annie, who wasn't even pretending to not have been waiting for them nearby.

When Annie saw that the two of them were doing better than when they'd stepped away, she broke into a grin and rushed over to James, throwing her arms around him in a hug. "Thank you," she said - which wasn't at all what James had expected.

"Oh, okay - we're hugging," James said, entirely off guard at the hug, though he carefully returned it. "Hi. You're welcome?"

She grinned wider and then stepped back, brushing her hair back. "Thank you for not giving up on me," she said and then hugged him again for good measure. "You have no idea what that meant to me."

"Yeah, that really was something I should have gotten around to sooner," James admitted. "Sorry for taking so long, Miss Hale."

Annie laughed, but couldn't quite hide her disappointment as her shoulders dropped. "Oh, we're back to that? But I finally got you calling me 'Annie'!"

"One time. And I was trying to manipulate a reaction out of you. Which didn't work."

Annie raised both eyebrows and then smiled somehow wider. "Wow. You are just like your dad. It was twice. Not once."

He frowned at that, trying to place the second time he called her by her given name. "You'll need to be more specific," James said dryly. "Which one are you calling an emotional manipulator?"

"Definitely Stark," Scott said, smirking. "Annie, James says he's a little lost, so you'll have to revise your statement on which dad you mean."

"I'm pretty sure the one you're implying hasn't had an emotion in years," James said.

"Oh, lies," Annie laughed. "He floats like a cloud around Jan."

"But everyone loves Jan," James argued.

Annie gave him a dry look and then shook her head. "Come on," she said. "I should tell you about how I snagged your dad. You're coming to the wedding, obviously, so you should hear the tale properly."

"He's in the wedding," Scott clarified.

"I thought you told him how it was going to go and he wasn't stupid enough to argue with you about it," James said. "That's what I heard."

Annie laughed delightedly as she looped her arm through his. "Oh, yes, exactly, but details, James," she said.

"I don't want anything past PG. I've got enough trauma, thanks."

"It's a deal," she promised, laughing, as she led him off.