A/N - hey griezz, welcome back! Though I can't think of a reason you'd need a bandaid for a broken arm. Doesn't seem real useful or sensible. :P

Chapter 12: Seven Years In The Making

The mansion was still full come New Year's Day. Everyone had stuck around to ring in the new year and to celebrate the twins' and Kate's birthdays — but it was still relatively quiet that morning. Everyone was sleeping in after the long day of celebrations they'd just had.

Logan and K, as usual, were some of the first up — and had already gotten the little ones settled as they got into the newspaper when Kurt arrived with Krissy. Kate was still sound asleep upstairs, but Krissy had woken up and wanted someone to play with her. Kurt was still slightly groggy as Krissy told him in her half-babbled way about all the fun she'd had yesterday.

"Guten Morgen," Kurt said as he slid into the seat next to Logan with his coffee.

"Right back atcha," Logan muttered. "Not sleepin' in with the rest of the crew?"

"Krissy wanted to play," Kurt explained. "And I thought I'd let Kate sleep in this morning."

"You should bring her a cup of coffee and a muffin," K said without looking up from her paper. "And maybe something to eat too."

Kurt chuckled. "Oh, I think I'll let her sleep. We were up late," he said with a little impish smirk.

"I'll bet you were," she replied quietly. "Just about everyone had a late night last night, I think."

"Well, a new year; new beginnings," Kurt said with a light shrug.

"Well phrased," she said just low enough for Logan to hear and chuckle.

"But perhaps I'll bring her some coffee later," Kurt said over his own mug. "I can't promise she'll wake up, though."

"Yeah, I'm sure. You can leave Krissy with us if you need privacy," Logan told him.

"I just may," Kurt said, still smirking to himself as he watched Krissy and Elin babbling to each other — as was their usual morning routine.

"You better go," K advised. "That wistful look is potent. Krissy's covered."

"I don't have a look," Kurt laughed quietly.

"You do, and if it was just you, I wouldn't care. But it's contagious, and I am so not ready to go there again. Go. Away," K shot back.

Kurt laughed before he nodded and teleported away in a poof of purple smoke that had Krissy looking up and saying, "Bamf," before she went back to playing with Elin.

"Aw, I just missed the Elf, didn't I?" Kitty said from the doorway as the last of the smoke dissipated. "Rotten timing. I wanted to talk with him!"

"He'll be back down in a few hours," Logan replied. "Something on your mind, kitten?"

"Just making plans for the new year," Kitty said, shrugging lightly before she stole some of Pete's special holiday creamer.

"Yeah, no kidding," K said with a nod. "Ready to go right now."

"Well, don't leave until tomorrow, okay? I've got plans."

"Promised Nat I'd stick around until she had her little one," Logan told her.

"Well good," Kitty said with a decisive nod. "Don't make any plans today, alright? You're mine later on. It's a surprise. Promise you'll like it."

"That's a big promise," Logan said. "But I'll be here."

"Come on, it's me," Kitty pointed out. "You know I wouldn't lie to you," she added with a little smile before she bounced over to kiss both little girls on top of the head.

The little ferals shared a look, but went back to the paper in short order, and after a good stretch of time, Annie and Scott made their way in — which ended up simply being a hand off in responsibility for the kids as K and Logan took James upstairs to lay him down and get some peace and quiet while Elin and Krissy helped the twins play with their new toys.

When Kitty poked her head back in the kitchen at nearly noon, Logan's prediction had come true: Kate and Kurt both were snuggled in together in a quiet corner nursing a cup of coffee each.

"There you are, Fuzzy Elf!" she called out brightly. "I need to borrow you. That okay, Kate?"

Kate looked up from her coffee for a moment before she tiredly nodded and waved her hand. "Bring him back in one piece."

"I'll make sure he comes back in as good or better shape than I found him," Kitty called out before she grabbed Kurt's arm and phased him down through the floor. She took him down to a secured ready room and simply grinned at him for a long moment before she even said anything.

"I need a favor," Kitty said, still grinning. "But it needs to stay a surprise."

"Of course," Kurt promised quickly, grinning already at the look on her face that promised something amazing.

"Okay. Good. Great. So. Tonight — if you're up to it? — Peter and I are getting married." She grinned wider if possible and looked entirely hopeful as she held her breath and clasped her hands behind her back, bouncing on her toes.

He blinked at her for a moment before he swept her up into a hug and spun her around. "Of course!" he said through the spin. "When? Where? What do you need?"

"I need you to keep it a secret — don't even tell Kate, please. I'm going to spring it on Logan just beforehand. And … we're doing it here. In Storm's garden. At sunset." She nearly giggled. "I have Rachel in on it — we've got it all covered."

"How do you plan on getting all the guests there — or would you like me to do that?" he teased.

She waved her hand with a little smirk. "Like I said: Rachel has it all covered. She'll just send them a strong suggestion to go to the garden if we can't ease them there any other way. But we're going to tell them that I have a surprise for everyone, and they'll show."

"That would work," he agreed, still grinning before he swept her up in another hug. "Congratulations, katzchen! When did this happen?"

"Well …" she said, hedging a little bit. "We … kinda had a little scare before Thanksgiving, and … well?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What kind of scare?" he asked carefully.

"I … thought I was pregnant?" she said, wincing. "And … I know Logan would kill him if that happened. So, we talked it over — and we decided to get married."

"Yes, if you'd come here with news like that…" Kurt looked a bit stern for a second before he couldn't quite hold the expression and burst into his wide smile again. "But I'm glad — you should be happy, katzchen."

"I was all ready to argue with him — you know, it's not like he's got any room to talk," she said with a smirk. "But this … is much better."

"Yes," he agreed. "And much safer for Peter. Logan wouldn't be the only one with something to say about it — and I do have room to talk," he teased.

"Well, what ifs don't really matter," she said as she gave him another tight hug. "What matters is that you're ready to make it official tonight — and we surprise everyone."

"I won't tell a soul," he promised. "Not until they're all in the garden and ready to be dazzled."

"Oh, Kurt — one more thing," Kitty said, looking like she was actually asking a favor this time. "I need someone to hide Illyana when she gets here."

"That I can do," Kurt promised. "But why?"

"Because she is horrible at keeping secrets, and she had told Scott that she was way too busy to show up for Christmas — so he'll know something's up if she appears in the middle of her very busy schedule for no reason," Kitty replied. "But I need my maid of honor."

He beamed at that and nodded before he kissed her temple. "Anything you need," he promised.

In the garden, Tammy and Tyler were in their favorite spot — holding hands on the hanging swing — when Rachel came in and nearly made a beeline right for them. "What are you doing here?" she asked, hands on her hips as she half glared at them.

"Um ... swinging?" Tammy said.

"Didn't realize that wasn't allowed," Tyler added.

"I'm using the garden later. All of it. But … I could probably use a hand," Rachel said to herself more than to the kids.

"What do you need?" Tyler asked.

"I'm not telling you what's going on, so don't ask that," Rachel said before she started walking to the far end of the greenhouse. "But you can stay out here and work. I need a cleared path here." She walked over to a pair of pots that Scott's niece had been working on for the past week to get roses to bloom. "And those need to be moved … here." She looked up at the two of them. "Storm won't mind."

Tammy and Tyler glanced at each other before they shrugged. "Shouldn't take too long," Tammy said as she stretched out her hand to get things moving.

"Oh, yes, well…. You and I have a few thousand twinkle lights to hang," Rachel said.

"Twinkle lights, huh?" Tammy had to smile a little. "I'm guessing this isn't just a birthday surprise for your little brother?"

"He loves twinkle lights," Rachel replied quickly. "Just get to work. It has to be clean. Swept up, picked up. And we don't have a ton of time."

"Then I guess it's a good thing you ran into us," Tammy said as she followed Rachel to get the twinkle lights set up while Tyler started to clear a path.

The residents and guests of the mansion had all started to convene in the garden, none of them sure of what was happening until they got there and saw the twinkle lights and the decorations. But to Kitty's delight, according to the chatter, it sounded more like they were under the impression that this was an announcement — not the real deal.

Logan and K had been caught up and were — to no one's surprise — running late. James had gotten fussy and it had taken a little longer to get him to settle down than it usually did. As they were finally heading out, Kurt and a handful of his bamfs appeared just outside their door with very expectant looks on their faces.

"We're waiting for you," Kurt said in a teasing tone, though he had one eyebrow raised, and a bamf was on each of the ferals trying to straighten their hair out and make them a little more presentable, giggling with excitement.

"What the hell's up with the demon brats?" Logan muttered as he batted at one to back off.

"They're just excited," Kurt said with a shrug.

"Well, tell 'em to stop before I start breakin' tails."

Kurt didn't need to tell them, though, because at the threat, they very quickly backed off, though they were all but dancing in place and cackling with excitement. Kurt wasn't much better, either, because apparently he had waited long enough, and he took hold of both of his friends to simply teleport them to the garden, one hand on K's back to keep her steady once they arrived before he disappeared quickly in another poof of smoke once Logan had hold of her as well — off to get into place so he could officiate with one of his practically-trademarked wide grins.

"I think we missed a memo," K said quietly, and Logan nodded his head in agreement as they looked at the decorations and the crowd.

"Oh good — you're here!" Kitty called out as she bounded over to Logan, grinning from ear to ear.

"What are you doin', half-pint?" Logan asked as she pulled at his arm.

"The better question is: what are you doing right now?" she said with a grin that was all sorts of trouble. "Because unless it's walking me right down that path to where Kurt is, you are wrong."

He raised his eyebrows at her for a second before he pulled her into a tight hug and gave her a little kiss. "Bout damn time you two pulled your heads outta your asses. Thought I was gonna have to kill him and chuck the body into the sun."

"Well, how about instead you walk me down there to him, huh?" she countered, her eyes twinkling.

"I will, but you're robbin' me of my pre-game threats," he teased before he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Tell me what you want me to do, darlin'." He offered his arm and had to smile at her bouncy little laugh.

She turned to where Kurt was — with a few bamfs doing their excited cackle — and called out, "Hit it!" which had one of the little guys getting the music started so she could pull her arm through Logan's. "Just right down that path," she directed him in what was more a giggle than anything else.

He didn't wait to be told again, and as they headed down the path, the crowd that was near the open walkway backed up a bit more, all of them grinning widely at them as they made their way to Kurt — and an excited but slightly nervous-looking Peter Quill.

K had been ported up to sit with Jubilee and Noh, who were both grinning widely, and Jubilee was bouncing in place as she covered her mouth with both hands and watched as her fellow 'sister' pulled a fast one on all of them.

Kurt, of course, was beaming outright as he watched the assembled friends and family going from surprise to excitement to sheer joy, and he and Kitty shared a little impish smile before she'd quite made it to Peter. And Logan handed her off once he'd given her a little kiss and turned to Peter with an unmistakable glare in warning.

The grinning minister looked out over the garden and couldn't help but start it off by saying, "Dearly beloved friends and family, I assume you've figured out why we're gathered here today," which got more than a few little chuckles across the garden. He turned his grin to Kitty and Peter and saw the way Peter wasn't even paying attention to anything but Kitty's hands in his. "It's been a union a long time in the making, so I won't stand in the way and make a long speech," he said, and for just a second, he caught Peter Quill looking very, very grateful.

Kitty had co-opted Elin and Sying as last-minute flower girl and ringbearer, and the little sparkly maple leaf came running forward with the rings as soon as Kurt looked his way, positively beaming with excitement.

Kitty and Peter were both clearly ready to be married. Neither of them had written their own vows and simply repeated the basic ones that Kurt gave them, and Peter jumped the gun a bit on the "kiss the bride" section of the wedding by kissing Kitty as soon as she had her ring on — before Kurt had even gotten to the part where he declared them man and wife — though he sheepishly laughed and let Kurt finish before he did it again.

When it was over, Kitty was the definition of the blushing bride as she let everyone know that the party was going to continue in the ballroom, and she expected everyone there. Of course, there were really no complaints as everyone, finally over their surprise, now wanted to be able to congratulate the two of them and also to ask how the heck they decided to pull the wedding off this way.

As Kitty entertained one old friend after another, K made her way to the still widely grinning groom with a glass of wine. "Congratulations," she told him as she handed it to him. "I'd love it if you told me how you two decided to do this as a surprise after all this time."

"Her idea," Quill said with an easy shrug. "I told her back when we got engaged that she could make the arrangements. She's the one with the huge family."

She took his arm and led him over to a quieter corner where she had the wine stashed. "Tell me all about it."

He grinned at her crookedly. "Which part — the wedding planning or the rest of it?" he teased.

"Well, I really only got to meet you a few times, and … it seems you're family now. So, how about all of it?"

"Fair enough," he said, leaning back in his seat with two of the chair legs off the ground as he casually launched into the story of how they met — how she ended up staying in space with him on his ship, that sort of thing.

The more Quill talked and told her what had happened, the more K liked him, and it must have shown pretty plainly, because it wasn't too long before Logan came over to find out what was going on.

"Is there a reason you've got that 'this one is now mine' look goin' on?" Logan asked, frowning a bit Quill's way.

"Yes," K said, nodding, before she pulled Logan down to sit with her. "Because he's now one of mine. Did she tell you about … everything?"

Logan looked between the two of them for a moment and shook his head. "What, everything?"

K took a deep breath and poured Quill another glass of wine. "Everything you just told me? Tell him."

Quill had one eyebrow raised Logan's way before he looked K's way. "Everything? I mean ... he already knows how we met."

"Yeah, he knows that part, I'm sure. Tell him about everything leading up to just before the proposal and then after. He doesn't know that stuff."

Quill seemed honestly surprised as he gestured for Logan to take a seat. "Thought Kitty would've told you," he said. "It's pretty old news by now."

"She skimped on the good stuff," K told him. "Just go on, little star prince."

Quill still looked surprised, but he shrugged and brought all four chair legs down to the ground, looking briefly annoyed at the nickname before he shrugged it off and tried to sit up a bit straighter around Logan. "You've been to Hala recently, right? Seen the damage my dad did there ... nearly destroyed the whole planet?"

"Yeah, we've popped in once or twice," Logan said with a nod. "But I don't see what that's got to do with anything."

"I'm working up to it, don't worry," Quill assured him with an easy smile. "Just figured you should get the background — seeing as it was fighting my dad that got me thinking on proposing." He took a deep breath as he watched Logan. "Tried to take him on by submitting to the Vortex — and before you say anything, I know. Bad idea. Kitty told me it was a bad idea, and I should've listened, but ... yeah." He let out the rest of the breath and glanced K's way before he continued. "Few of my crew tried to handle it and couldn't. We were getting desperate, so I tried it on for size and… it worked. Only…" He paused. "Only it showed me what would happen with me and Kitty if I submitted, and I didn't like it. So I gave it up."

"Okay, that I get," Logan said, with his eyes narrowed a bit. "So?"

"So Kitty took it on instead," Quill said, frowning slightly at the memory despite the good buzz and the high of the wedding. "We won, but … I've never been so scared in my life. So I proposed right there. No sense in waiting."

"How long ago was that — because she didn't tell us about the engagement until a couple years ago, and I …" Logan paused for a moment then leaned forward, realizing what K was getting at. "When exactly was Hala trashed?"

"Seven-ish years ago," Quill said. "Was another little while after that when the Vortex happened, so it's just about seven years even at this point." He didn't seem too concerned about it.

"You've been engaged to her for that long?" All the anger in his face had switched over to pure disbelief.

"Yeah." Quill raised both eyebrows at Logan. "I thought she told you! I mean, it was only a little while later when you and Nightcrawler and Hawkeye came by my ship on your back from-the-dead tour. Figured that would have been in the catching-up. She didn't tell you?"

"She failed to mention she'd been engaged for all this time," Logan replied, looking more irritated again. "Who's idea was it to wait this long?"

Quill seemed to realize that Logan was looking for someone to be mad at, because he paused for a second. "Um."

"Don't lie now, sweetie," K said, resting her hand on Quill's arm.

"No, it's just..." Quill seemed to be trying to figure out how to word his answer. "We've been spending most of our time in space, on my turf. She wanted to get married on Earth. So I left it to her and figured she'd work things out."

"She's been here plenty to pull off a thing like this in no time," Logan countered. "What changed that got her in turbo mode all of a sudden?"

Quill looked steadily more nervous at that. "Oh. Well. She … we … thought we should get married..."

"Stop talking," K warned suddenly as she squeezed his wrist. "You were doing so well. Just … plead the fifth."

Quill looked gratefully K's way and nodded. "Ask Kitty," he told Logan. "Her decision."

K gave Logan a quick kiss and took Quill's arm and got to her feet. "Like lookin' in a mirror, ain't it, sweetheart?" she said before she took Quill away from Logan to get him a stiffer drink.

It took Logan a moment, but he quickly scanned the crowd and headed right for Kitty — where she was, thankfully, chatting with Kurt and Kate. "So. Long engagement, huh?" he asked.

"Few years," she said easily, still half distracted playing with Krissy in Kate's arms.

"A few translates to two or three, not seven," Logan countered.

At that, Kitty actually looked up and gave him her full attention. "Yeah, well," she said. "I guess I let time get away from me, huh?"

"While pushing us like crazy," Logan said dryly. "So if it was such an easy, laid-back thing — what was with the sudden rush?"

Kitty glanced at Kurt for a second before she zipped over to kiss Logan's cheek. "You're right. I shouldn't have pushed you guys. That was mean. I just wanted you to be happy!" She grinned at him brilliantly. "But you know, I shouldn't have been so overprotective."

"Don't give me that crap," Logan replied. "I can't even threaten the guy right when I'm sympathetic to him. You, however..." He shook his head a little bit. "Stringin' him along. Didn't think you were the type."

It was only the fact that it was Kitty's wedding day that kept Kate from gleefully rubbing it in, but she was definitely still cackling and trying to cover for it by playing with Krissy.

"Now, I'm gonna go see how K is with her newly adopted space brat. Congratulations," Logan said before he turned around again and headed off.

Kate was still cackling as she shook her head at Logan's retreating back. "K collects them," she said finally. "Looks like Noh's got a brother now."

"Yes, well... I'm sure she didn't mean to adopt this one when she sat down with him," Kurt said.

Kate giggled again. "Scott must feel left out. Or do you think he counts as a space brat too — with his father?"

"Scott definitely counts as a space brat," Kurt replied. "Space pirate father. Yes. Qualifications all line up properly."

"Oh good. Then he fits in with his brothers just fine," Kate giggled delightedly before she bumped Kitty's shoulder with hers. "Good thing yours is already fitting in so well with the in-laws. Or does that make you an in-law?" she teased.

"No," Kitty replied, giving Kate a little bat in the arm. "I didn't think she'd interrogate him like that."

"You've met our intergalactic lawyer, right?" Kate said with a smirk. "She practically lives in interrogation mode."

"Yeah, I was there," she teased. "So does Logan. It's horrible sometimes."

Kurt seemed to take pity on her for a moment and pulled her into a one-armed hug, then released her only to make a sweeping bow and take her hand in his. "Well, enough of interrogations. Would you allow me to steal a dance?" he asked with a wide smile.

"Yes, please," Kitty replied, some of the smile returning. "I should have known better than to hide this. He'll get over it and be back to threatening Peter in no time."

Kurt nodded his agreement as he led her out to the dance floor. "That's true; he will get over it," he said. "Though I think K was serious about adopting him into the family."

She looked over in time to see Elin on Peter's lap and snuggling into a warm hug. "Yeah, looks like," Kitty replied.

"I'm glad," Kurt told her warmly. "If he's going to be married to my katzchen, he'd best be able to get along with our family."

Logan, however, had moved on to other matters when he saw Illyana and Strange actually enjoying taking a few minutes from their usual odd tasks. He walked up with a funny look on his face as he opened up the conversation. "You got a few minutes, doc?" Logan asked with a little frown.

"Of course, Wolverine," Strange said as he gestured for Logan to lead the way with whatever it was that needed doing.

Logan nodded, and they made their way over to snag Kurt and Kate as well — since this business involved them. Kurt took one look at the expression on Logan's face and didn't even need to ask what was going on to teleport them to one of the classrooms in the mansion that wasn't being used so they could have a little privacy.

Strange looked around the room for a moment before he raised an eyebrow. "What can I do for you, then?" he asked, settling into a more businesslike tone.

"Not really for me," Logan said as he let out a breath and looked between Kurt and Kate. "I don't do this, but special circumstances," he half apologized. "Azazel had an enchantment that pulled him to Kate when she got pregnant. I wanna know if you can make something happen to trap him this time." He looked at the couple squarely. "Because we're running out of time."

"Wait. Really?" Kate was beaming broadly, and Kurt looked like you could have knocked him over with a feather.

"I didn't want to wreck it, but yeah. Really. Considerin' the alternate future you saw, I wanted to get ahead of this one," Logan replied.

If he had been expecting them to be disappointed that the surprise was ruined, he was mistaken. Kurt simply teleported right to Logan to wrap him in a hug — and Kate wasn't far behind, half tackling them both as she let out a squeal of pure delight.

"We haven't even — I wasn't gonna take a test until — this is amazing!" Kate said, too excited to finish a complete thought as she wrapped both men up tight.

"I was going to tell you soon. Give you a little chance to figure it out on your own," Logan told her, "but since Strange was here …"

"Don't apologize," Kurt said with a grin. "This is a much better way of getting the news than the last time."

Strange watched the hug fest for a while with a muted smile, waiting for Kate and Kurt to detach before he offered any thoughts — though of course, that meant he had the time to compose his thoughts in the first place. "We've already put a spell in place that will freeze the demon if he harms you," he said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, but what about catchin' him?" Logan asked.

"Perhaps we can build on what we already have," Strange said, now pacing a small circle around both Kate and Kurt. "I know the limitation that he has to mean you harm wasn't enough when he placed a spell on Hawkeye and the little one. We'll have to be more specific." He stopped in his pacing to tug on his cape for just a moment. "Let's extend it to any physical contact," he suggested. "If he touches you — or if you touch him — he will freeze in place. I can give you an hour at least to work with, and we can figure out a way to restrain and detain him from there."

"Great," Kate said with a nod. "Because I gotta tell you: if he's going to be dropping by in a few weeks? I want to hit him. If that is part of the spell, all the better."

"Does it have to be Kate that comes into contact with him?" Kurt asked.

"She's the one at the center of the spell," Strange explained. "She and any of your descendents. I can also set the spell so that if he touches any of the children, the same thing will happen. That way, the spell will continue in perpetuity long after you both have left this mortal plane."

Kate and Kurt glanced at each other before they shared a little nod. "Alright," Kurt said softly. "What do you need?"

"The same thing as before. I need you, and I need Kristina as well this time to be sure to get all four of you. She should be covered by the spell, but it's best to be certain in matters like this," Strange explained before he quickly added, "And perhaps we should wait until she is asleep."

"Perhaps we should," Kurt agreed, remembering how little Katie had reacted to Strange's magic years ago.

Kate was nodding beside Kurt as she thought it over before she asked, "So that will freeze him in place for us — but after that, then what? I mean, it's not like we can just keep sending him back to that stupid island. He keeps getting off it, and that horrible future didn't exactly fill me with confidence that he'll stay there even if we send him back."

"Yes, we need something more permanent," Kurt agreed, though he didn't have any ideas to offer for the time being, and the three of them fell into a bit of silence as they thought it over, occasionally offering ideas that didn't quite seem to cut it.

Logan finally cut in and met Kurt's gaze. "I'll be right back," he said, heading toward the door without any further explanation.

He made his way through the celebrating heroes and family to find his wife. "You think you can talk Stark into anything still?" he asked quietly over K's shoulder.

K turned his way with a little smirk. "Pretty sure I can, if you can stomach the teasing that has to happen to get there," she replied. "What do you have in mind?"

He gave her a little smile and took James out of her arms to hand over to Scott. "I need a minute," he told Scott before he pulled K into a quiet room and explained what he had in mind. She started to smile slowly and nodded along with his plan before she made the phone call that started out with 'Happy New Year, handsome,' and with a smirk, Logan headed back into the crowd to find Kitty and inform her of a job she had to do before she disappeared into space again.

When he got back to where Strange was with the little Wagner family, Krissy had joined them, and it looked like they were waiting for her to drift off to sleep before they let Strange do his thing — so that the magic didn't scare her.

Logan gave Kurt a little look that read all kinds of premeditated trouble before Kurt had to ask: "What are you up to now?"

"Tell you later; do this first," Logan told him. "I think I've got it covered, though." He looked around the room for a second and nodded to himself. "Yeah. Pretty sure I got it."

Kurt raised an eyebrow at him with a bit of a smirk. "I'm sure you do," he said before he returned his attention to Kate and Krissy. The little elfling was finally falling into a deeper sleep, the very tip of her tail twitching as she started to dream.

Still, Strange waited a bit longer, having learned his lesson from the last time he scared one of the little ones at the mansion, before he even thought about starting his spell — and even then, he warned Kurt, "This is through your bloodline, so it may sting a bit," before he put his hands on both Kate and Kurt and the light show and wind that was the spell started up in earnest.

Krissy didn't wake up the entire time, though she did fuss a little bit in her sleep. While Kurt was all but holding his breath, Kate's hand steady in the small of his back until Strange was done — and all three seemed to let out a breath of relief at once.

Just then, there was a gentle knock at the door, and K softly opened it — with Tony Stark in her wake. "He's game," she said, pulling him in by the hand. "But he wants to hear it — exactly as you were thinking."

Kate glanced quickly toward Logan. "What all does he know?" she asked in a low whisper.

"That I wanted a favor, and I've got an idea," Logan told her. "He doesn't know what it's for. Not really."

Kate thought it over for a second and then nodded. "Good, because I got in so much trouble with Jubes and Noh last time."

"You can tell them whatever you want. This is to deal with the jackass once he's frozen temporarily," Logan said before he took a breath and turned toward Tony and smirked crookedly, already sure of himself and only looking for confirmation. "Would it work if we attached one of your generators to a stasis field? Could you even pull it off? I know that Noh has one or two of 'em tucked away. Pretty sure I can talk him into parting with one for this."

"Can I do it," Tony half scoffed. "Of course it would work. I just have to see the stasis field and see what kind of power source I'm dealing with so I know how much work needs doing."

"How fast can you do it?" Logan asked.

"Depends on how compatible the technologies are," Tony said honestly. "I could do it in a day or two if they're not too far removed from each other. If it's a rush job, probably sooner than that if you don't mind having to lug around something clunky."

Logan nodded. "It's a rush job, but I think it needs to be portable. I'm not sure how big the space is that it's gotta fit into."

"Okay ... how's this." Tony already had the gleam of a new project in his expression. "I'll get you the first prototype, clunky or not, so you've got your bases covered, and then I'll work on getting it slim and trim for you."

"Perfect," Logan agreed before he looked to his wife. "Take him to Noh. Make it happen. I'll handle Kitty."

"Can I ask?" Tony said quickly. "Before I go ... your surrogate daughter just got married, so you're not thinking of putting her new husband in perpetual stasis for the rest of eternity, right?"

"No," Logan said with a smirk. "Or ... I wasn't until now."

"So it's for someone else," Tony surmised with a smirk.

"Azazel," Logan admitted. "Can't kill him, can't seem to keep him where he belongs ... so..."

"So eternally-powered stasis field. Perfect solution." Tony clapped his hands together and rubbed them.

"Of course, there will need to be some alarms or notification in case something goes wrong," K said. "Where you have planned for him ... he'd die if he was stuck long enough out of stasis."

"I could rig that up too — or work with your resident security expert," Tony offered. "His tech married to mine anyway; probably going to want his eyes on this stuff." He looked thrilled at the prospect.

"I'll talk him into it," K said, taking Tony's arm again, though there was very little pulling needed to get him to follow her.

Kurt and Kate watched the two of them leave before Kurt turned to Logan with a raised eyebrow. "You already have a place picked out?"

"Kitty stuffed Emma in a hole about five miles under the school. She said it was real cozy — no way to get to it or to get out without phasing. He's gonna have trouble weaseling out of there."

"Sounds good — as long as we get those alarms set up so we know if he dies," Kate said. "I do not want to accidentally speed up that timeline," she added with a bit of a shudder.

"The alarms should go off well before he dies," Logan said. "We'll have him set it so they ping if the stasis is interrupted. That'll give us a few days to get down there."

"I just need a few seconds to punch him and freeze him so we can fix the stasis," Kate muttered. "I like the new spell."

"Exactly," Logan replied with a little smirk. "Plenty of time."

At that, Kurt smiled and went over to wrap his best friend in another warm hug. "Thank you for looking after us, mein Freund," he said.

"If it keeps your dad from causing trouble, it's lookin' out for everyone, right?" Logan replied. "Little bit of a selfish stake in it, honestly." He turned toward Strange, still with that troublemaking gleam in his eyes. "Thanks, Doc."

"And especially looking out for your goddaughter," Kate added. "In addition to the selfish concerns. Which I totally get."

Kurt wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a warm squeeze before he kissed the top of her head and turned back to Logan and Strange. "Well, I think we've been absent from the party long enough. We shouldn't miss sending the happy couple off."

The night was nearly over, and Kitty had started to look for Logan by then. As soon as he was free from his little side project, she all but seized him. "You have to dance with me," she informed him, and he had to chuckle as she pulled him out for their dance, grinning broadly and obviously enjoying every second.

"Good, because I need to talk to you," Logan replied. "After the dance, don't you dare go running off into space. I need your help with somethin' big."

"I was planning on sticking around," she promised him as she twirled with him. "Been in space for a while now — thought we'd honeymoon somewhere more earthly," she teased.

"Make sure you have a comm on," he replied with a smirk.

"I will," she promised with a nod. "Just send Kurt to come get me after I'm decent," she teased. "Since it's something big."

"I'll try to remember that part," he said with a little chuckle. "Of course, I won't have much time when it comes up — so be ready to move."

She gave him a look for a second. "Is this because of the long engagement?"

"No, not a thing to do with you and Peterquill," he replied. "Just need your skills — and no one else can do this."

She nodded at that and let out a playful sigh. "It's a burden to be so needed."

He chuckled a bit more and pulled her into a tight spin. "I wouldn't know."

It wasn't a long song, and when it was over, he beat her to the punch with a little kiss pressed to her forehead before she could get him first — and when he handed her over to Peter, it was with a look that neither of them could misunderstand.

But Peter didn't seem to care about that at all as he swept Kitty out onto the dance floor. K had been plying him with the good stuff all night so that she could get the good stories, but even before that had started up, he had been walking on air. So by the time they got to the dance, he was definitely earning his title of Star Lord — because that's where his head was.

When they'd had their dance together, the littlest kids led out the bubble blowing with unbridled enthusiasm as they all but chased the newlyweds with their bubbles through their whole exit. Peter, of course, loved their enthusiasm and made it a point to try to pop as many bubbles as he could on their way out, to the kids' delight — before the newlyweds headed off in happily married bliss.