Chance For Reunions

Don't Mess With The X-Men

The mansion was a little quieter when Spring Break rolled around.

Well, quieter until Clint and Natasha showed up, and then there was a lot of squealing and screaming as Clint seemed to be trying to take on everyone under the age of five at once.

"You're doing it again," K called out to him as the kids started to back off of the dogpile on Clint.

"Doing what?" Clint called back, still lying on the floor and grinning.

"Playing in your mental age group," she replied as she walked up. "Glad to see they didn't completely do you in. Want some coffee while they regroup for their next attack?"

He grinned and climbed to his feet. "Coffee's always good," he agreed.

"May not be your thing, but Annie was nerve baking? Or something. I'm not sure. She has excuses to bake all the time. Anyhow. Cinnamon rolls today. She was out of bananas."

He grinned even wider at that. "That sounds good. I've heard legends about the Annie baking sprees," he teased.

"She gets carried away — but this recipe is mine," she said with a smirk. "She's hoping to tempt me into craving something."

Clint snorted and shook his head at that. "How's that going, anyway?" he asked as they headed for the kitchen.

"Oh, you know. Everything is where it should be," K said with a shrug. "Got the date to aim for."

He grinned. "What's the target?" he asked, chuckling at his own little archery-related pun.

"December 6th," she said as she poured him a cup of coffee.

His jaw dropped openly, and he started to grin. "No way. That — that's beautiful."

"I didn't make it to the last due date," she told him. "But Kate looked like her head was going to explode at that one."

"She tell you why?" he asked, his eyes sparkling.

"She did not," K replied, though she was watching him a bit more carefully now. "She just got very obnoxious."

"Well." Clint sat up a bit straighter and started to laugh despite himself. "I hope your kid doesn't mind sharing a birthday with me."

K raised one eyebrow and stared back at him for a moment. "Seriously?" she asked, setting her mug on the counter with a little smirk at the corner of her mouth.

He broke into a grin that was somehow even more obnoxious than before. "Seriously, bro."

She started to chuckle at that. "Oh my God. That's golden." She looked shocked for just a few moments longer. "Oh, but I can't ... oh man. I can't use anything from your names. At all."

He made a face. "Please, never ever do," he agreed. "Don't inflict Francis on anybody else. I'll carry that burden all on my own."

"I'm reasonably sure that if I even considered it, I'd never hear the end of it from Wade," K told him. "Kate slipped him my email. He is worse than a spammer. He's already suggesting names. Lots of them."

Clint shook his head. "Sorry about him. He's a good guy, just... yeah."

"No, it's fine, really," K replied with a little wave. "Much better than the groping last time around."

"Sorry about that too." Clint shook his head but still looked like he hadn't come down from the high of his possible birthday buddy.

"Of course, Kurt is hoping that this was a mistaken date?" K said. "And that this happens a few weeks sooner."