Katie, Not Kate

Chapter 12: How To Incapacitate a Cyclops in One Easy Step

Jubilee dropped into the seat next to Kate the next morning with a wide grin. "Hello, bigger Katie. Have you seen all of the pictures yet, because I finally saw what Peter took? And — you not even being an issue in some of those? I am so having a few printed."

Kate chuckled over her morning coffee. She was getting used to being razzed about her time as Tiny Katie, and she figured she could suffer through a few more indignities. Hazards of being a superhero and an X-Man, apparently. "Which ones?" she asked. "Because the ones where you're chasing me trying to get me to take a bath are so not getting put anywhere."

"No, no. Nothing like that," Jubilee assured her, though she was wearing a huge, crooked grin. "Pete got a really really great one of you and Logan that ... it needs to be preserved, but ... Kurt. Kate. Kurt."

Kate shifted slightly. "What about Kurt?" she asked, even though she had a feeling she knew where this was headed.

The crooked grin only got worse. "He has... the most ... expressive eyes, don't you think?"

"I think they're pretty cute," Kate agreed cautiously. "Why? You trying to muscle in?" she teased.

"No, I like the one I've got just fine thanks. And besides, he's like a big brother. No. Eew," Jubilee said, pulling a face before she straightened her shoulders importantly and turned her focus fully back to Kate. "He just ... he says so much with his eyes. He's got this ... look." She thought about it for a moment, and her expression looked like she was relishing something hard to wrap her mind around. "It was almost bittersweet."

Kate tugged at the end of her hair as she thought over some of the pictures Peter had shown her. "He just... he took care of me," she tried to deflect. She had a feeling she knew what Jubilee was trying to argue, and she was so not ready for that conversation. "Because it's me, and because he's just like that. Don't read so much into things, Jubilee."

"No, that's not it," Jubilee replied, totally serious. "You need to see it, Kate. I won't even try and tell you what I think — just that it is SUCH a beautiful picture." She paused and chuckled to herself. "Both of them are."

Kate sighed. She could try to fight Jubilee, argue the point, but that could lead to all sorts of discussions. Discussions about futures that she wasn't entirely prepared to have. "Fine — but only because I think you're wrong on this," she insisted.

Jubilee took her hand and led her to Pete's office, where the computer was still up with the images that Jubilee wanted. "Oh, hello," Peter said. "You — you don't want to look at what I like, do you? Because that's gotta be a surprise for when I print it."

"Pete, you can have whatever favorites you want," Kate said with a little shrug, trying not to think about just what he wanted to print out. "I'm just here because Jubilee thinks Kurt's eyes are dreamy."

"Okay. Whatever you say," Peter said with a shrug as he keyed a few last commands into the image editor. "Believe it or not, most of Jubilee' list doesn't have Kurt."

Kate turned to face Jubilee with raised eyebrows. "But you were all — the look on his face?"

"Yes. But he's not the only one I like in this photoset." Jubilee turned the laptop so Kate could see. "Look. Look at Noh trying to play with little you. It was epic."

There was no way Kate couldn't giggle when she saw the perfect action shot Peter had captured of a very tiny Katie — wearing the biggest grin — sailing through the air as Noh threw her out of the pool with a look of concentration that she recognized as 'aiming.' "Who was he trying to throw me into?" Kate teased.