Chapter 45 - Can't Say No To You
School had started back up for just about everyone on the team - even the older team members were teaching, and only a few, like James, were done. But that meant that Tommy and Mia were back to hanging out with each other in between classes again - and this time, they weren't worried about Mia's evil grandfather interrupting them.
They did, however, still have to worry about the press. And Tommy was particularly careful about them lately, because he had taken to carrying around a little box in his pocket and waiting for inspiration to strike to tell him what to even do about the massive hints that both James and Mia, apparently, had been dropping him. And he had to be careful not to be obvious about playing with it in his pocket, or the press would figure it out before Mia did.
They'd finished their first week of classes - which was mostly about the syllabus and setting expectations - and were sitting on the top of a wall, watching some of the other students and lazing in the sun for a while.
"I've got to do this big official thing this weekend," Tommy told her, pulling a face. "Mom's going to the UN to talk about some of the international issues now that other countries are starting to pick up on that stupid registration idea. And she wants me and Billy to get some practice being in charge, since Billy will have to do it one day, and I'm sorta Billy's backup when he has to go be amazing with his husband or with the team or the UN or whatever."
"Oooh, I want to see you and James talking to the UN for different countries," Mia said with a giggle. "That would be fun."
"Honestly? That's a real possibility, and how messed up is our world that I can see that happening?" Tommy laughed.
"If that happens, I have to go," she teased.
"I mean, obviously. If I've got a goddess on my side, I can't lose."
"Oh, sure, that's totally what it is," she laughed before she kissed his cheek. "Not at all anything to do with how amazing you are, hmm?"
"Ah, there's a right answer here, I'm sure of it."
"Don't argue with a goddess …" Mia said loftily.
"There it is. There's the right answer," he said and pulled her into a kiss. And when he heard the click of a shutter go off, he rolled his eyes, picked her up, and ran her out to one of their favorite spots in the jungle. Not the family spot, but a nice spot nonetheless where a few people occasionally came through walking the trail but it was otherwise peaceful and quiet.
"You're getting quicker about leaving those vultures behind," Mia observed.
"The second I acknowledge that they exist, they start asking if I'm going to wait until you're pregnant before we get engaged, I kid you not. That was my whole morning," Tommy said, rolling his eyes.
"That sounds like they want to see how resistant they are to electricity," Mia said flatly.
"Obviously." He set her down and leaned his head back.
"So let them say it near me, and I can make an example out of them," she promised, lighting flashing in her eyes.
"Nah, you're too good for 'em," he said, grinning crookedly.
"And if I fry a few, they'll learn to shut their stupid faces up."
"Yeah. Hard when they're hitting nerves, huh?" Tommy asked, wincing one eye closed.
"It's just not giving you any credit," she said with a careless shrug. "And it's not my nerves they're hitting. It's bothering you, and I won't allow it."
"Love you too," he said and kissed her cheek. He lingered there, debated it for a second, and then added, "It's… part of why… like, the last thing I want is for there to be any doubt if I asked you to marry me that it was because, you know, I love you and not because I keep getting asked about it."
Mia smirked to herself. "Good thing that I know you wouldn't do something like that unless you meant it."
"True, true." Tommy nodded a few times.
When it was clear to Mia that Tommy wasn't sure what to do with himself yet, and that he was full of nerves, she sighed theatrically and simply started down the trail as if that was the plan from the start. "So, are we headed east or north?"
"North, probably," he said, though he didn't make a move to get to his feet. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," she agreed, spinning back to face him.
"If I said I didn't want to get married too fast and have people comparing my marriage to my brother's for the rest of my life, would you be okay with a long engagement?" he asked, one shoulder shrugged up to his ear.
Mia frowned. "As long as you realized I wouldn't want a marriage that was compared to my best friend forever, too - I don't see why that would be an issue."
"I just kinda figured once I asked, you'd have an officiant picked out, and…"
"Excuse me, I am not your brother," she teased. "And I would like to get more college out of the way before anything that major actually went through."
"Pretty sure you have to jump the same hoops as James, too," he warned her. "More or less. I mean, I'm not the heir, so there is less to do, but… still hoops."
Mia's tail began to sway behind her in spite of her good control on the rest of her reactions. "Someone's been studying."
"I… don't like learning about my own business from reporters shouting questions at me, so… yeah, I … know a lot about how it would go, yeah."
"Whyyyyy are you studying, Tommy?" Mia half sang, hoping to tease him just enough to get him out of his nerves. "Or are you just onto hypotheticals?"
"Oh, well…" Tommy fished in his pocket and pulled out the box he was keeping there. "Definitely not a hypothetical. If you're still interested after … everything." When she blinked at him for a moment, he blushed. "So… do you want to get married?"
She had assumed it was coming, since he'd been dancing around it, but she absolutely hadn't been expecting this. And she had to tease just a touch. She tipped her nose up slightly. "It depends on to whom I would be getting married."
"Right, yeah, I kinda mangled that," Tommy muttered, rubbing the back of his neck before he did, in fact, get down on one knee. "Would you marry me, Mia?"
Her shoulders dropped. "I didn't mean you had to get on one knee," she said softly before she took the few steps closer to take a hold of his face and kiss him. "Of course I would."
He grinned and pulled her into a much longer kiss and only let her up because he wanted to put the ring on her finger. "I figured you kinda knew something was happening when you were telling James and Kate your ring size."
"I didn't tell them that to drop hints. They were asking."
"Okay, that makes me feel less like I was missing obvious hints," Tommy laughed.
"I was definitely dropping hints, but I wasn't trying to go through anyone else." She ran one hand through his hair. "You've been in your head a lot."
"I'm trying to make important life decisions while people with cameras yell at me about Billy's important life decisions. I think I'm allowed."
"I think you're allowed to be more directly sassy with them when they ask you questions like that."
"You know, I am? And they still ask. Paparazzi are wired wrong, I swear."
"So turn it around on them," Mia said. "You're a spy, right? Dig into their past a little and throw it at them. It'll be fun. And it'll wreck their video, too."
Tommy grinned crookedly. "I mean this in the best possible way, but it's so hot when you get to be a little demon."
"Well, they are earning it," she said primly. "And you won't let me electrocute them. Yet."
"You should totally short out all their expensive equipment, though," Tommy said and stole a kiss.
"It's not as hard as you'd think," she said when the kiss broke.
"Then I look forward to the show. You know, after we're done celebrating being engaged, huh?" he added, picking her up to rush off with her to somewhere even more private.
Ororo had just finished an office visit with one of the newest students. Of the group that the team had found, a few had accepted the offer to go to the school, though Kevin and his little sister had decided to go to Genosha after all, since they had more resources for a little girl her age to find friends and find a normal life.
Those who had decided to stay were settling into the routine of the semester nicely, and a couple had already asked whether the X-Men had an age limit.
Ororo was in her element. This was the part of being on the X-Men she had always loved. She loved to welcome new people, to see them realize that they could grow their gifts in genuine safety, surrounded by people who cared about their well-being. The simple fact that this kind of safety was so rare to so many mutants was exactly what kept her coming back to this school, this role.
And to add to her good mood, she heard the rush of air that heralded the arrival of her favorite spy and turned to see that Tommy had run there with Mia in his arms, both of them grinning at each other and then at her once they had stopped in her office.
"I see you two are in excellent moods," Ororo said - about a second before Mia tackled her into a hug so fully that she fell back a step before she was able to catch her daughter.
"Guess what," Mia gushed, latching her hands around Ororo's neck in the hug, which meant her mom couldn't see her ring yet.
"I couldn't possibly guess," Ororo laughed as they finally righted themselves.
"Well, we came straight here, so you're the first to know - and look!" Mia finally let go of her mom and stepped back enough to hold up her left hand. "Ta da!"
"We have to officially notify my mom so we can start the whole, you know, process," Tommy explained as Mia danced in place while her mom examined the ring. "Less hoops for the non-heir, but … anyway, we figured before we start the hard work part, we wanted you to know."
"Oh, I'll get Dad too!" Mia said, teleporting away and leaving Ororo, laughing, with Tommy for only a few seconds before she reappeared with Forge, who had half a sandwich in one hand and was laughing at the whole situation as the smoke cleared.
"Seems like a party," Forge observed, sliding seamlessly over to Ororo to kiss her before Mia seized him again.
"It absolutely is," she said. "I'm engaged!"
"To who?" Forge teased, though he picked her up in a spinning hug when it was so obvious that was what she wanted him to do.
Mia beamed at him. "Oh, it's a surprise," she teased right back. "I think you'll like him, though."
"Nah, he'll hate him. He's a total rich brat," Tommy said dryly, grinning where he was leaned against the wall with one foot kicked up to stabilize himself, watching Mia and her family and honestly glad to see how happy she was. It was one more small reassurance to him that she really did want to marry him.
Of course, Ororo wasn't going to let Tommy leave himself out of anything - not just because he was going to officially be part of the family now but because she was all too aware of his tendency to self-destruct. She pulled him into a hug, whether he wanted to or not, though he quickly shifted to spin her when he realized what she was doing.
"Congratulations," she said warmly when he set her down.
"Thanks." He looked toward Mia, who was laughing with Forge about something. "And for the record: you know I'm not gonna hurt her, right?"
Ororo smiled, but this time, there was a flash of something dangerous behind her gaze. "Why would you even consider it?"
Tommy let out a nervous laugh. "Good point."
She smiled and pulled him into another hug. "Welcome into the family, Tommy," she said, sincerely. "We're glad to have you."
"Thanks," he said again, though he didn't get to say anything else before Mia had teleported over to join them in the hug.
"We should totally get your family here now too," she told him.
"Sure you want to share the moment?" Tommy asked. "Mom's gonna start planning as soon as she hears."
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Mia said.
"Good point," Tommy said and took off running.
Ororo laughed and pulled Mia over to kiss her forehead. "I'm surprised you're not bursting to tell everyone right this second."
"As soon as Billy knows, everyone else will. So we kind of wanted to celebrate with our parents first before we get swamped."
"Probably a good idea," Forge said, even as Tommy arrived and, an instant later, Wanda and Vision arrived in swirls of red.
Instantly, Wanda snatched Mia to her in a hug. "Welcome to the family!" she gushed. "When should we have the ceremony?"
Mia laughed into the hug. "I see where Billy gets it from."
"I'm being serious," Wanda said, holding her at arm's length while still beaming. "When can we make this happen?"
Mia glanced over at Tommy, who just shrugged easily. "Told you she'd start planning immediately."
Mia laughed. "We've got time," she told Wanda. "I still have a lot to do with school, and I don't think I can start the legal application for a while anyway…"
Wanda waved her hand. "Honestly, we can get rid of the age requirements if that's what's-"
Tommy's jaw dropped as he stared at Wanda. "Mom!"
"What?"
Tommy blinked several times over. "After everything with Billy and James…"
"Oh, I still intend to honor my father's law," Wanda said. "But setting an age limit feels unnecessary. If you find someone willing to do everything on that list who also still passes muster enough to get permission from the head of the family, what does a number matter?"
Tommy was still staring at his mom for a long time before he rushed forward and hugged her enough to lift her off her feet. "You don't have to, Mom," he said, even though every inch of him showed how much it meant to him that she'd even offer.
"I know I don't have to," Wanda said, half frowning at him. "I want to."
"You're amazing; you know that?"
"Where did you think you got it from?" Vision asked with a smirk.
"From both of you," Tommy said without missing a beat.
"Wishful thinking," Vision teased. "Interesting."
"Sure, Dad," Tommy said, then pulled him into a hug too. "Think you can help me fight off paparazzi with a stick? They're not gonna not notice the ring."
Vision tipped his head. "A stick? No. How about a laser?"
"I'll take it," Tommy laughed, slipping over to put his arm around Mia's shoulders. "Hear that? Dad's already prepared to defend you."
"You're being ridiculous," she laughed - and then laughed harder when Billy and James arrived in a flash of light. "Oh, you were right. Your mom couldn't not tell him," she said, handing a bill to Tommy in full sight of everyone.
"Um, yeah, I think I'm allowed to want to know about my brother getting engaged," Billy said, shaking his head at her before he pulled first Tommy and then Mia into a hug. "Congratulations! Now, you get to settle in for the long trek up the mountain of paperwork, woo!" He twirled his finger in the air, getting a laugh out of Mia.
"At least I'll have a good guide," she said, teleporting over to James to kiss his cheek.
"You'll be fine," James promised before he pulled her into a tight bear hug that took her off her feet. "It's about damned time, anyhow."
"Thanks," she whispered into the hug, knowing only he would catch it and would know she was quietly thanking him for all the help getting them to that point.
"I didn't do a thing," James said before he kissed her cheek, too.
"Well," Billy said, looking around the room, "at some point, word's gonna reach the rest of the squad."
"Only if you go spreading it around," James teased, swaying Mia like the adults used to do to them when they were kids.
"Let me correct myself, then," Billy shot back. "I'm going to tell the rest of the squad, and we're going to throw a party."
"Don't you dare," James said. "Let them tell everyone how they want to."
"We kinda figured we'd lose control of that the second we looped my mom in, honestly," Tommy laughed. "Honestly surprised she didn't wish up a whole engagement bash the second I told her."
"That's just asking for it," Mia giggled.
"It really is," Wanda agreed, already spinning up a bit of energy between her fingers before she did, in fact, create a party back in Genosha. And with Billy's help, everyone was there within minutes, quickly clued in to what was going on when they saw the decorations and the way Tommy and Mia were center stage in the throne room and laughing about it.
"That's my mom," Tommy said, and Mia kissed his cheek.
"You love it."
"Yeah, I do," Tommy agreed, though he was looking at her and pulled her into a kiss… that set off a whole ton of wolf whistles around them.
Ever since the press had gotten wind of Tommy and Mia being engaged, the two of them were over in Westchester far more often than usual, trying to avoid being mobbed.
Tommy obviously wasn't going to let it show that he was as bothered as he was, but the headlines about the playboy prince "settling down" and the speculation about what was going on behind the scenes since Apocalypse was… a lot.
So, he was trying to stay busy. Taking more jobs from Ororo as she wanted to keep an ear out for issues long before they could become bad enough that the team had to deal with them. Even doing small things like getting the mail and sorting out the hate mail before anyone else had to read it.
The letter that arrived with an official courier, well, he got that too and couldn't hide his curiosity as he brought it back to Ororo.
"Hey, so, the guy at the door only gave this to me because I'm a recognizable X-Man," Tommy said as he handed her the letter. "Seems official to me."
Ororo raised one eyebrow at him as she turned the letter around so it was facing her. And then, she let out a soft breath when she realized what it was. "Ah."
"Is that a good 'ah' or a bad 'ah'? I honestly can't tell," Tommy said, leaning over the desk, too curious not to peek.
Ororo smiled and turned the letter around so that he could see it. "It's neither. Just… expected."
Tommy raised both eyebrows and even let out a low whistle when he saw the official request to appear before Congress. "They're gonna be on the news soon saying they've asked us to show up," he said.
"I'm sure they already are."
Tommy nodded absently before he noticed the date for the proposed hearing… in less than a week. "Didn't exactly give us much time to prepare."
"I noticed that too," Ororo said, sitting back to see what conclusions Tommy would draw from that on his own.
"Which means they're hoping we don't show."
"Or hoping we come in emotional," Ororo agreed.
Tommy's foot was already tapping. "Which means whoever is running the show already made up their mind."
"Very likely."
"Great." Tommy dropped into the seat across from her. "So, now what?"
"Now, we talk to the others," Ororo said, folding the letter back up as she got to her feet.
Tommy quickly got back to his feet. "Right, yeah. Gotta mobilize on that timeline," he agreed.
Ororo smiled his way. "Thank you for bringing this to me, Tommy," she said as they left her office.
"Hey, you're my favorite boss," he teased.
"Do you have anyone else to compare to?" she laughed.
He grinned crookedly. "Let's not think that hard about it."
She smiled as they headed down the hall, knowing that it was a huge indication of how interested Tommy was in what happened next that he was going at a normal speed alongside her. She knew from Mia that he only slowed down when it was important to him that those with him got to go at their speed. He really had matured so much, and it was good to see her future son-in-law making such strides.
"Tommy," she said after a moment, "could you gather everyone?"
"On it," Tommy said, immediately rushing off, which had her smiling.
She really had come to love him.
In no time at all, Tommy had rounded up everyone on the team - at least those who were available - and pointed them to the War Room. Some of them came of their own accord, but he carried others in a small display of impatience.
And, of course, as soon as Kamala saw what Ororo had in her hands, she clapped her hands over her mouth. "Oh no," she said softly.
"We expected this anyway," Ororo said before Kamala could claim any responsibility.
"Definitely wasn't you," James promised. "Don't even think it."
"This isn't even the first time," Scott said, though he was frowning toward the letter.
"So … what's it say?" Nate asked.
"A representative of the X-Men has been invited to speak before Congress about this registration initiative," Ororo explained.
"A representative," Rachel said slowly. "But they wouldn't be happy if we sent a lawyer, right? Because … who actually wants to go? And I don't want Dad to just …" She sighed as she turned toward him. "You just had Chance. You should stay with him and Annie and not put a target on yourself."
"It's not like I haven't gone before," Scott pointed out with a quiet shrug.
"I know. But that doesn't mean you have to," Rachel pointed out.
"They didn't ask for anybody by name," Kate said, scooting closer to Ororo to read the letter herself. "And honestly, whoever we send could probably at least bring a lawyer. That's pretty common, actually."
"Okay, but if it's just a representative, we could write the statement and they could deliver it, right?" Rachel asked.
"That's not gonna help us," Tommy said dryly. "Believe me."
"That won't work if they have questions or ask for clarification," James said.
"And it's not persuasive," Kate said. "This is about putting on a show just as much as it is about asking actual questions."
"Sounds like Tony's arena," James said, then turned to Scott. "If you two go together, I will absolutely have a screen shot printed of the two of you. For posterity."
"You should go too," Kitty said, smirking. "Get the picture in person."
"Don't think I won't," James shot back.
Bobby tapped his nose and pointed at Kitty. "Yeah, good call. Worked before, right?"
"What worked before?" Nate asked, frowning at both of them.
Bobby laughed. "I swear it was like a good luck charm or something. Every time Logan went with your dad to give some big speech, we were taking victory laps back home."
"Wait, why didn't you tell us about this before?" James asked, turning his full attention to Scott.
Scott spread his hands out to the side. "I told you your father had my back."
"You didn't say he was going to Capitol Hill with you," James said. "You made it sound like it was a mission thing."
"I thought it was clear," Scott said, frowning back at him. "It never really came up, anyway…"
Kitty let out a sharp laugh at that. "Oh my god."
The three Summers kids turned in unison toward Kitty. "Okay, you need to elaborate, since someone's gone quiet all of a sudden," Rachel said with the boys nodding in agreement.
Kitty looked at Scott, who was pinching the bridge of his nose. "Do you even know the number of times Scott looked like his head was going to explode when Logan would pull out some skill or language or story about his past and said those exact words when Scott wanted to know why no one knew about it?" She pointed at Scott, visibly delighted. "How's it feel?"
"This isn't that," James said. "This is just … he's been playing down what they did, and I want to know … you know what?" He pulled his phone out and started searching. "I'm sure someone's got video of it somewhere. I wanna see for myself."
"Oh I'm sure," Kitty said, already trying to help by shooting a few videos over within minutes.
The Summers kids were bunched up and watching the videos together with the volume on low, though as they hit different parts, one or another would peek up at Scott with a questioning look for a second or two - letting their expressions do the talking rather than harass him outright. That always worked better anyhow.
"This isn't news," Scott said, exasperated, even though Annie was sitting beside him and was telepathically prompting them with things she'd found when she had looked up Cyclops when they started dating.
"No, but it's not something you shared with us, either," Nate said.
"You guys knew that I spoke for the team all the time. We went over this when I talked with JJ when Emma outed me," Scott said.
"Feels different," Rachel said. "Borderline secret keeping."
"I never kept secrets from you," Scott insisted.
"You never told us all of this either, though," James pointed out. "So you didn't want us to know."
"Why would I need to go into detail when you have all done perfectly well talking to the press and everyone else and I wasn't even on the team for the longest time?"
"You are totally making my point for me," Rachel said. "But you know … it would have been nice to hear these stories when we were trying to get the team going and things were going sideways."
"Kinda surprised you guys didn't just ask Steve for archive footage," Kate said with a troublemaking grin. "Like, the second you wanted stories. He's a big ol' softie."
"You didn't even need Logan for anything," James said, breaking away from the picking at Scott. "Why the heck didn't you take Ororo or Hank or someone?"
"I took Hank and Ororo on multiple trips," Scott said with one hand over his face, looking defeated as only a father whose children were ganging up on him could look.
"Yeah, but you took Logan more than everyone else put together," Kitty said.
"Logan and I publicly feuded. Presenting a united front was an obvious unspoken symbol that the team - and mutants - were on the same side about the issues I was testifying about," Scott pointed out.
"So it was tactical only?" Nate asked, shifting the tone of the picking to keep it going.
"Not entirely," Scott said, running his hand down his face. "By the time we were doing it regularly, he and I were on better terms, and I knew he had my back. Which I've told you all. Multiple times and in multiple ways. I'm not sure how separately telling you that I did plenty of public speaking and also saying Logan and K supported me as a leader is hiding anything."
The three of them shared a look, then silently broke apart to find spots to sit around the room away from each other.
"God, Ororo, just schedule the flight and send me to the politicians. They'll be less vicious with their lines of questioning," Scott grumbled.
"Should I request that Stark join you or do you have any opinions on who should go along?" Ororo asked, keeping her quiet smile in place.
"Obviously, the only correct answer is me and James," Kate put in. "James for obvious reasons but also, it's been a minute since I pulled the 'human on the X-Men' card publicly, and they need the peaceful coexistence reminder."
"What obvious reasons?" James challenged. "And are you ready for some creeper politician to throw Hydra in your face on camera?"
"I plead the Fifth."
"Two questions that are totally separate, come on," James said in a low, rumbling tone.
Kate stuck her tongue out at him and then shrugged. "I mean, you and your dad have my back, and a quick 'this hearing isn't about that' should help, but the obvious reasons? Because you're you."
"She has a point," Kitty said, smirking.
"What does that even mean?" James argued.
"It means you're gorgeous and perfect," Billy pointed out. "It means you're hilarious and quick-witted and-"
"Hey. She may have some kind of head trauma, but she sure as hell never said anything like that about me."
"The hilarious and quick-witted part I actually agree with," Kate laughed. "But god, no, the nose alone," she had to tease him.
"It took you this long to finally settle on you hate my nose. Well, about time."
"I didn't want to tear down your self-esteem," she said sweetly.
What self-esteem? Nate projected to her.
Ex-actly. She grinned his way. Come on, Nate. Back me up. You know James and I have always rocked our public appearances, and your dad is an actual X-Men rock star. It's a no-brainer.
You have, but what if we let them go and you set up to have live reactions with JJ?
You don't think I'm ready.
I think it's a huge step, and I don't want you to have any trouble if they get attacked. I also think I wouldn't be able to handle it if Dad, you, and my brother were all attacked at once. Again.
That's a risk every time we go anywhere at all, she pointed out.
Nate hesitated, because he really didn't want her to take that step yet. Not this close to everything that she'd been working through. Not when there was no way that the politicians were going to be as logical or well-thought-out as JJ. But he also couldn't say any of that to her when she had her chin jutted out like that.
Kate frowned when she saw how quickly Nate locked his thoughts in. Hey, you went dark, she said, immediately softening, because he didn't usually do that.
Sorry.
Just… if you're upset enough to go dark, I just want to know… She trailed off in her projection and looked toward the others, who were now in the nitty gritty of getting Scott and James to D.C. anyway. Looks like they agree anyway.
That didn't seem to lighten him up in any way, though, and when she looked over at him again, his jaw was locked down tight. He certainly seemed to be torn between angry and … something.
Kate watched him for a second and then let it drop, putting a hand on his knee. "So, whose job is it to make sure this is recorded for posterity, since my father-in-law clearly can't be trusted to talk about it?" she teased.
"C-SPAN," Rachel said lazily.
"It's May's job to turn that recording into a greatest hits clip compilation," Kamala said.
"See, this is why we love her," Kate agreed.
"Rachel should go separately and monitor," Nate said, breaking into the planning session. "I know, no telepaths on-scene, but …"
"But it'll be good to have backup," America agreed. "I'll go with her. Don't want anyone screwing with them, and Rachel's a little close to the players if something does go wrong."
"Like you're not," Billy teased her.
"What, my partner's dad and my god's husband? Definitely not attached," America said lazily.
"Tony's planning to go anyhow," James said, looking up from his texts. "So we can hitch with him if you don't want to deal with commercial and having Kate and Natasha sift through the whole flight list. Especially when America is so detached. Deranged. Something."
"Both," America said.
"Nate had a good thought, too," Kate said, squeezing Nate's knee again. "Kamala, want to have another bite at the JJ apple? We could set something up, you and me, and do some live fact-checking."
"Oh, you can do that," Kamala said, blushing. "I don't think the last time I was there did any good."
"You did great," James argued, sure that Jan and Tony had already pointed out where she needed work on things - and not wanting to discourage her if Kate was willing to step in with her, too.
"You really did. I've pulled a lot of those moves too," Kate said.
"That's okay," Kamala said. "I mean, I'll try again, but… maybe not… for the thing I feel like I caused."
"Well, you didn't, but fair," Kate said. "I'll set it up with JJ anyway. You can join if you want to, okay?" When Kamala nodded, she leaned back into Nate, letting the conversation fall to the wayside as they went back into logistics, pulling out her phone to reach out to JJ. You shouldn't clench your jaw, gorgeous. You're going to break a tooth.
Wouldn't be the first time.
You want to talk about it or…
Nate shook his head lightly, but didn't answer otherwise.
Okay. Well. Maybe later?
With a little sigh, Nate turned his head to kiss the side of hers. It's not important.
Is to me.
Don't worry about it, please. You have bigger things to deal with.
Bigger than making sure my husband is okay? Good thing you're so cute; that was so wrong.
Nate frowned, but didn't have a decent response.
Okay, well, you simmer. And when you're ready, tell me what's up, and I'll do what I can to help.
Nothing's up, gorgeous.
Because you're 'fine,' Mr. Summers?
You make it sound like an accusation. He smirked the slightest bit. I plead the Fifth.
She chuckled under her breath. Just trying to look out for you, and you went dark. If it really freaks you out that bad for me to go out with your dad and James-
No. It's fine.
Oh, so it really freaked you out, Kate said, nodding.
Kate. Please don't try to pull a Widow on the telepathic plane. I need my safe space.
Kate sat up straighter immediately. Sorry.
I didn't mean it as a hit. I just … really don't want to be interrogated.
I get it. I'll back off, she promised.
"No," Nate said in a breath. "Not what I was going for either. Promise. I'm trying to back you up, that's all."
Kate searched his expression for a long time and then kissed his cheek. "Meeting's breaking up anyway," she said.
"Yeah, it was always going to go that way, I think."
"They didn't even send it to anybody by name, and that was how it was going to go," Kate agreed.
"They probably knew it, too," Nate said. "It makes some sense … and it kind of pisses me off that I can see half a dozen ways that can bite them."
"That's… why I wanted to go too," Kate said carefully.
"I know. But I've been watching your Mom's intel coming through, and it can definitely be worse with more people. Any of us."
"And James isn't wrong that I can't deal with creepy old men right now," Kate admitted, practically through her teeth, because she didn't want to admit it but knew something had set Nate off.
"If it bothers you that he's right, I can sock him in the mouth for you."
"More like it bothers me that it's taking me longer to shake this one off," she said. "Viper was way more traumatic, and I feel like I bounced back okay, right?"
"Ah … okay. We'll go with that," Nate said with a ghost of a smile.
"Rose-colored 20/20 vision or something?" she offered, squeezing his hand.
"Something," Nate agreed. "It wasn't easy for you then - but there's distance from it, too, you know? And you had two others who went through it with you. That makes a difference."
"Doc Hale thinks part of the problem is it's compounded," Kate said. "Triggering like five memories instead of three at a time…"
"Very likely," Nate agreed.
"You should talk to him more. I mean, I know you do, but…" Kate watched him with her eyes half-lidded.
"But …"
"I dunno. I've gotten a lot of help, and you've been a great support, and maybe it's okay if you get some support too, you gorgeous, unselfish hero," she said, doing her best flirtatious smile.
"I'll put it under consideration," Nate said diplomatically.
Kate nodded, already filing it away. "Want to take advantage of David being asleep?" she asked under her breath. "Let's go somewhere private."
"And I figured you were going to go for the ice cream play."
"Works better for me than you, and a telepathic romp in the sack might restore your safe space," she pointed out.
"I don't want to blow up your tranquility, either," Nate pointed out. "But … whatever you want to do…"
Kate sighed and let it drop. "Just trying to cheer you up," she said, sitting back from him.
Nate kissed her cheek. "I don't need cheering, gorgeous. Even if you're still the prettiest cheerleader in history."
"Damn right I am," she said automatically. She turned to steal a better kiss. "I'm gonna go catch my mom, okay?"
Nate nodded. "Okay. Let me know where you want to catch up?"
"I'm taking David to go see my dad once he wakes up anyway, so I'll find you," she said.
"Oh. okay, then," Nate said, doing a fine job of keeping a mostly flat expression in place.
God, I need a Summers translator, Kate thought, already resolving to find her mom and, if nothing else, ask for help getting him in… Craig's office or… something.
As the meeting broke up, the last thing that James had expected to come of it was Wanda appearing to join the group for prep - insisting that she had some time to talk with both of them before they went to Congress to be questioned. There was little to no chance that Genosha wouldn't be brought up, after all - and she wanted to be sure they kept their good record of keeping Genosha clear.
"I know it's not official yet, but I doubt they'll make the distinction between you being a prince consort and you being married to a prince," Wanda said as she sat down with James.
"Probably not," James agreed with a sigh. "So … Tony's going to be taking a day or two for this kind of thing beforehand too. Dad will probably want more regular chats leading in … only fair you get to stake out time, too."
"Thankfully, your father will be doing most of the talking, but they won't be able to resist asking questions of you."
"Speculation."
"You have a good point. They'll be dazzled by Tony showing up in support of the X-Men. Obviously."
"That's how it usually goes. You think they'd have realized where he stands by now," James said. "Seeing as he picked a mutant for his successor."
"You're assuming logic enters the equation," Wanda said dryly, then paused and shook her head. "But on the other hand, we don't want them to turn this into a way to keep tabs on Stark Industries to make sure their war machines stay oiled."
"Tony already announced a resolution to not participate in any racist activities, with Sentinels at the top of the list," James told her, in case she didn't know. "And that includes cutting contracts with any country that uses that tech."
"Yes, but if they're pushing for registration…" Wanda sighed. "This is different from Sentinels alone. This is surveillance and control."
"Yeah, seems to be a theme," James agreed.
"Times like this, I wish I had my father's eloquence," Wanda said in a sigh.
"Try floating first. Pretty sure it helped him clear his mind."
"I already do," she said, smirking.
James crossed his arms on the table in front of himself and rested his chin on his arms. "I'll do my best - for what it's worth. Even if I'm really just going to be background. This time, anyhow."
"I have full faith in you," Wanda said with a reassuring smile. "It's the idiots running things I have no faith in. For how hard they're gunning for mutants right now, they'll twist even perfect words. But we can't ignore them; hiding didn't work."
"You saw that interview, huh?" James teased.
She chuckled. "Anything Billy knows, I hear about. Of course I watched."
"Oops. Twenty minutes you'll never get back."
"I'll live."
"Okay," James said before he sat upright again. "I guess we better get started. You're here, so you get first shot."