It was the first day of December, and Kate found herself just grinning at the still-waking-up boyfriend of hers as she stood in the doorway with coffee. He had been out late with his best friend the night before, and she had never seen him come back that drunk before. It was kind of endearing seeing him all tuckered out and curled up under the blanket.

"Good morning, you sweet little Elf," Kate said, kissing Kurt's cheek as she set a coffee mug down next to the bed, keeping the other one for himself. "I brought coffee."

Kurt waited long enough for his kiss before he pulled the blanket up a little further. "Morning," he muttered quietly. "Not so loud, please."

She giggled a little bit and just crawled in next to him with her coffee. "You were out late," she teased in a softer tone. "You woke me up when you couldn't remember which side of the bed was yours."

"Yes, well, thankfully it only happens once or twice a year," he replied, smirking up at her. "Usually in the same month."

She reached over and played one hand through his curls. "Well, that's good. I don't think I could handle dying of laughter every month." She kissed his temple. "You're unbearably adorable when you're trying not to wake me up."

"Don't tell Logan, or he'll make a point to repeat this more often," Kurt said with a smirk. "Any good excuse will do for him."

Kate smirked right back at him. "I'll keep it to myself," she promised. "There are other unbearably cute things you do anyway. He can know about those other ones."

"I would prefer if you didn't try to discuss my cutest attributes with my best friend," Kurt told her, finally cracking an eye open. "I will never live it down."

She giggled and set the coffee aside so she could crawl closer and snuggle him. "I haven't given him any serious dirt yet. You'd know, I think," she teased. "Don't worry. Your secrets are safe with me."

"I really wasn't worried," Kurt replied, turning to wrap her up and nuzzle into her hair.

"So." Kate snuggled in deeper. "What was the big occasion, anyway? I don't mind sharing you; I'm just curious."

"Logan's birthday," Kurt replied simply. "I try to make sure he's not alone."

She nodded into his chest. "You're a good friend to him."

"It still didn't do much good," Kurt replied with a heavy sigh. "He's probably still down in medical. He was in pretty bad shape by the time we got back."

"What happened? Did he get in a fight with his birthday cake?" Kate asked lightly.

"Oh, that would have been entertaining, No," Kurt told her before taking a very deep breath. "You know who Sabretooth is, ja?"

"Yeah," she agreed, shifting a bit so she could see him better when she heard the change in his tone. "I know his name."

"Well, he and Logan have a long-standing feud," Kurt tried to explain. "Victor doesn't let Logan's birthday pass without trying to kill him. So to make things simpler, he tries to not be home where there are children."

"Aren't they both, like — I mean, they can heal?" Kate wrinkled her nose.

"They can," Kurt agreed. "And no one does a better job of tearing one up than the other. They know exactly how to make it hurt worst and longest."

"That," she said softly, "does not sound like a good birthday tradition."

"It's certainly not Logan's idea - and he does not return the favor," Kurt replied.

"But you went with him?" Kate tried not to look too concerned, but she was now running a hand over his chest and half looking for any sign that he was hurting. "I just thought you were getting plastered, not fighting Sabretooth."

"Well — we did both," Kurt said with a shrug. "Victor got in a good shot and knocked me out for a while. When I woke up, he had Logan in a bad spot. It was very hard to remember where we were 'porting to, but — we got home and I got him to Henry."

"Well, at least you did that much." She looked up for a moment and then scooted so that she could look at his head. "You doing okay?"

He smiled and kissed her. "Of course," he replied. "The alcohol did more damage than the blow."

"That's what I brought the coffee for," she said with a little smile. "To take care of you."

"I do appreciate it," he said before he kissed her into the pillows. "But the kisses do more to heal."

She just grinned delightedly. "Well, I'm just going to have to keep doing that, then," she said, very gently pulling him closer to kiss him back.

When they'd spent an incredibly improper amount of time waking up, the two sweethearts finally headed downstairs to find Logan with Bobby — both of them still having breakfast hours later than usual.

Bobby had clearly been grilling him on how the fight went down and calling it the first fight since he came back to life, which had Logan rolling his eyes and trying very hard to ignore him after the first three times of explaining that he hadn't been dead really didn't make any difference to Bobby.

Logan tipped his chin up toward Kurt when the couple arrived but didn't say anything. Kate dropped into the seat next to him and gave him a little smile. "Happy birthday. Now that I know about it. Good thing I do my Christmas shopping early. I'll find you something else later." She dropped a custom-made purple-and-blue-striped teddy bear, complete with little blue sideburns, into his lap. "His name is Tiger."

He smirked and shook his head before he put an arm around her and pulled her into a little side hug and kissed the side of her head, then picked up his coffee mug and went right back to coffee and quiet time.

She grinned at him but tilted her head to the side. "You feeling alright?" she asked. "I thought I'd at least get a crack about Benjamin Pierce."

He nodded and had one hand resting on his throat for a minute as he swallowed hard. "Still healing," he rasped out at a whisper.

"Oh!" She reached over and gave him a little kiss on the side of his head. "Then you just sit there with Tiger and heal. Don't let me stop you."

"Someone got his throat torn out last night," Bobby said with a very serious look on his face.

"Ooh. Ouch." Kate winced visibly, with one eye closed. "That's... bad." She didn't really have a better description and just fell back on the very obvious wince.

Logan just nodded his head her way in silent agreement. "So much for Creed being a good guy," Bobby said. "Stupid Stark."

"Yeah, he's... very, very stupid," Kate agreed with a little smirk. "Even when I ran with the Avengers, they were looking at him sideways for that one. And half a dozen other things."

Logan nodded and very carefully signed out for her DUMBASS.

She laughed and nodded at that, knocking her fist for 'yes' as she did so. "Oh, very much so."

He raised his mug her way, and the two clinked before Logan snapped his fingers at Bobby for a refill.

Bobby had just about been ready to freeze the bottom of Logan's mug for treating him like an errand boy when the door to the kitchen burst open and the flurry of motion and color that was Jubilee tumbled in, all smiles and bubblegum. "Happy birthday, Wolvie!" she announced as she ran over to kiss him on the cheek and give him a big hug. "I know it's a day late — but I tried. It was your birthday when we left, but then we were attacked by Skrulls, and they took out part of our engines... Anyway, happy birthday!"

He frowned at her for a moment after she got done squeezing him, but he still wasn't talking too well. He cleared his throat a little bit and very quietly rasped out with narrowed eyes "Who the hell is 'we,' or do you got a frog in your pocket?"

Jubilee let out a light laugh and shrugged. "I think you know from the look on your face."

"Did you get to pilot the ship yet?" Kate called out with a little teasing grin.

"I did," Jubilee said with a wide grin. "But — I'd rather let him drive, honestly. My attention span isn't the greatest."

"And I'm sure you were well-distracted," Kate agreed, grinning wider.

"And well-distracting," Jubilee laughed.

Logan just looked ready to leave, and before the conversation could go much further, he pushed away from the counter and just headed for the garage, the keys to his motorcycle in hand.

But Jubilee wasn't having it, standing with her hands on her hips as she watched him. "Where do you think you're going? I came to see you."

He just gave her a dry look and kept walking.

"It's icy out, you moron, you can't take the bike," Jubilee argued, but a few short minutes later, the sound of the Harley's engine was unmistakable. She turned to Kate quickly. "Hard night?" she asked.

"Apparently," Kate agreed. "Creed tore his throat out."

"I thought he was over that stupidity!" Jubilee said with a frown. "The Avengers said that he was past that!"

"Yeah, well, this from the same people who let Tony Stark and Hank Pym build more bad guys for them," Kate said, rolling her eyes.

"Crap," Jubilee replied, now looking a bit wide-eyed as she bit her lip and looked toward the window. "I didn't even think that was an issue anymore." She bounced slightly as she thought it over. "Should I go after him or just wait for him to grumble back here?"

"Depends on where the spaceship is parked, I think," Kate said, trying for a tease.

"Um - he said he was going shopping? Whatever that means," Jubilee said with a shrug. "I figured I'd get my mandatory Wolvie snuggle and grab some clothes. By the way," Jubilee said before she spun in a circle, her arms outstretched as she broke into a wide smile. "Space threads are better as an adult."

"You look lovely, Jubilee," Kurt said with a little smirk her way. He looked between the two women before he asked in a teasing tone, "Should we stop Wolverine or no — it could be fun to just sit back and watch..." He grinned as he pretended to consider it then pulled Jubilee into a quick hug. "Give him a chance to process. He'll accept it. Probably."

"He got Piotr drunk and set him up to fight the Juggernaut just because he ticked him off," Jubilee pointed out. "Kinda nervous as to what he thinks would be justice if this one does something that he thinks is ... hurtful."

"Don't worry about that right now," Kurt advised with a laugh. "But if history is any indicator, I'm sure Logan will come up with something."

"But Kurt's right. Don't worry about it," Kate agreed as she got up to also hug Jubilee. "For right now — space stories. You so have to tell me things. I heard there was a concert on the moon again, but you know he still hasn't figured out 140 characters, so it was hard to get details."

Jubilee plopped into the seat and gestured for Kate to join her. "Oh so many stories," she agreed. "I'll try to just hit the highlights for you."

The late breakfast had turned into the beginnings of lunchtime as a few of the others in the mansion drifted in and out to grab some food before a certain music-loving alien made his appearance with a bright smile and a wave.

"I couldn't find the double fudge topping you said you liked, but I got everything else," he told Jubilee as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Everything Earth-only I could find for your comfort food needs."

"I can't believe you went shopping," Jubes said brightly before giving him a quick kiss. "It's so nice of you."

He grinned at her and shrugged a bit. "Well, I wouldn't want you to get too homesick. We still have entire planets to explore." He looked up at the other two in the kitchen with a grin. "Hello, Kate. Nightcrawler. It's wonderful to see you both again."

"You seem much happier than last we met," Kurt observed. "It's wonderful."

Noh-Varr nodded his agreement and pulled Jubilee a little tighter around the shoulders. "It's nice not to travel alone. And it is even nicer to have someone who appreciates the beauty of the universe to travel with," he said, grinning down at Jubilee as he pulled her into a brief dance right there in the kitchen that ended with a kiss.

"Is he always this chipper?" Kurt asked Kate quietly, but not so quiet as to attempt secrecy.

"Give him a while to calm down — he likes to think he's being cute when he comes around and performs," Kate teased Noh's way, and he pretended to look offended.

"Kate Bishop of Earth, my faking is so total," he said with a little grin. He looked down at Jubilee. "But the fun — I'm not faking that," he added in a quiet whisper that also was easy to hear, still lightly spinning her as he had swept her up off the ground so that he could reach her to kiss her.

"You might not want to fake at all when Logan returns," Kurt advised, not recognizing the inside joke between Noh and Kate. "He considers it a lie and he will hold it against you." He smirked a bit. "That is — if you plan to continue travelling with Jubilation."

Noh nodded with a slightly more subdued expression, though he hadn't lost the grin. "Well, as long as she wants to travel with me, I'd be a fool to turn her down," he said as he set her down.

"I'll let you know if I get bored," Jubilee said with a little laugh, though it was clear to anyone watching that she was enjoying herself dancing with the tall alien boy.

"Oh, I hope you never do," Noh said sincerely. She didn't respond but to pop up on her toes and steal another kiss.

"I have a few more clothes to grab," she told him. "And I wanna see Wolvie for more than thirty seconds, so — make yourself at home. I'll be right back. I'd invite you along, but I've been reliably told that it's simply not fun to watch me pack. People have been injured."

"I'd argue that my reflexes are too good to be injured, but I have seen you dance," he teased.

She stuck her tongue out at him and slipped out from under his arm. "See you in a few. Try not to run off without me." She zipped up the stairs at a jog, cheerfully greeting students and staff along the way.

"She's likely going to be a bit longer than she thought," Kurt told him. "Bobby was a bit angry that she disappeared like she did with no warning. He said it was too much like a trick her mentor would pull."

"Ah." Noh nodded the slightest bit and looked more serious as he leaned against the wall. "I should apologize for that."

Kurt laughed outright. "No, really it's fine," he promised. "We expect it of his 'kids'. They grow up and rush into adventure without a backwards glance."

Noh smiled at that. "I've found that is especially true with Jubilee."

"She was probably his favorite," Kurt said. "And she spent more time with him than the others did."

"So, you know, watch your back," Kate chimed in with a wink.

"Ah — is that why she insisted on calling ahead to see who was home at the mansion before we arrived?" he asked.

"If you're hoping to catch Wolverine, it's always best to check that he's actually where you think he should be," Kurt agreed with a laugh.

"So," Kate said, cutting in. "I heard that you and Jubes were attacked by Skrulls on the way in?"

Noh made a little face at the mention of the Skrulls. "They seemed to take exception to my ship being... functional," he agreed, shaking his head. "We dealt with them easily enough," he added quickly to Kurt. "Skrulls are something of a specialty of mine."

"Did you sustain any damage?" Kurt asked with a little frown.

"The Kirby engines took a serious hit, but I patched up the leak," Noh admitted. "It's just a matter of refueling. We were losing an epiphany a second on the way in."

"Well, if you find yourself in need, you're welcome to our hangar and all the equipment in it," Kurt said with a little smile.

"Hey, if you need to refuel fast, you can always let some of the students look through your ship," Kate suggested. "A whole bunch of teenagers, a whole bunch of excitement — you'll be full up of potential and emotional energy in no time."

"I might just take you up on that," Noh said with a laugh. "She does seem to lag without the whole of our old team around. I think she misses all that frenetic energy."

"If you really need it, just give Jubes a few cups of coffee, some sugar and a physics book. She very nearly studied with Henry when she was in college," Kurt offered.

"That sounds dangerous," Noh said with a wide smile.

"It really is," Kurt agreed. "Henry had to stop stocking Twinkies in the lab for a whole semester."

"I'll have to ask her about that," Noh agreed. "She always tells stories in the most energetic way — and they all seem to end in a bang." He looked around the mansion with a little smile. "In fact, I almost feel like I know the entire mansion by name without having spent much time here at all. Some on a personal basis." He paused and tipped his head to the side as his advanced hearing picked up what the other two couldn't hear yet. "Oh, that must be Wolverine," he said simply. "Jubilee told me about the motorcycle."

"He's likely due back," Kurt said before he stood up. "Excuse me, I think I'll warn Jubilee if she hasn't heard it herself." A moment later, he teleported away, leaving Kate with Noh for a moment.

"You know, he was right — you do seem a lot happier," Kate said, smiling.

Noh shrugged lightly as he adjusted the headphones he was nearly always wearing around his neck these days. "I seem to remember someone telling me not to be alone?"

"Aw, you listened," she teased.

"And you were right, of course," he agreed. "I truly have enjoyed myself more these past few weeks than I have for a long time."

"Good." She grinned at him. "Happy's a good look on you. You should keep it."

"I don't know if you've heard this from your dear friend Jubilee — but it's impossible not to have fun with her around." Noh beamed. "She's rather wonderful."

"Yeah. We like her," Kate agreed, laughing.

When Logan walked in after having clearly taken his sweet time in the garage, he hung the key to the bike near the door, stepped into the kitchen, and barely slowed down on his way though. "Elf. Kate. Bug Boy."

"Of all the handles I've had, I think that is my least favorite," Noh confessed to Kate in a whisper as Logan just pushed through the door to the hall.

"He'll get over it. Maybe. Or you'll learn to like it. Whichever happens first," Kate assured him with a laugh.

But before Noh could say anything else, there was a loud shout and then a louder thump just outside the kitchen as Jubilee spotted Logan and positively tackled him to the ground. "You are not supposed to take off in a huff when I come to see you, stupid!" Jubilee half-shouted as the sounds of muffled hits echoed the hall.

"She's reading him the riot act. Two seconds — I gotta see this," Kate said, holding up a finger to tell Noh to stay put before she poked her head out of the kitchen to see Jubilee smack Logan in the side of the arm.

Noh peered around the door as well with a little smirk. "No one can stop that woman. She is a force of nature," he whispered to Kate with obvious affection that had Kate grinning on behalf of both of her friends.

Half a second later, Logan started tickling Jubilee, and the laughter echoed the hall for a moment before she slapped his chest again and just leaned down to give him a hug. "That is what I expect for your birthday when I say hello!" she told him before both of them got to their feet.