A/N - robbie, Jean and Scott are RIDICULOUS. And you know it. omg. They are so funny when they aren't YET together ... but oh, so clearly want to be. I adore the awkward innocent flirting almost as much as I enjoy the not-so-innocent innuendo flirting and obnoxiousness. They both have their charms.

Chapter 25: Designing For Two

"Oh my gosh," Jean all but breathed out from between her fingers. "It's amazing."

"Of course it is!" Jan declared, grinning and fussing as she darted around K. It had been sheer luck that Jean was around when Jan showed up with a rolling wardrobe that she insisted the boys not even look at. It was too much for Jean to ignore though, and after her last encounter with Jan - measuring for her uniform - this simply wasn't something Jean thought was even possible.

"That looks like it fell out of the thirties," Jean whispered.

"Well. That is where I got my inspiration," Jan said as she checked some of the flowing silk that draped across K's chest. "He's going to love it."

"I think you're overdoing it," K said, though she was sure to not move - her back straight and her chin level as Jan worked on the final adjustments.

"Oh, come on," Jan said with a laugh. "Look at you! I'm a genius. Go ahead and admit it."

"You've echoed the style pretty damn well," K admitted, one hand at her stomach as she turned sideways to see her profile. "About the only thing to finish the picture would be a cigarette going like a smoke stack."

"What?" Jan asked, scrunching up her nose. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason," K muttered under her breath, tipping her head slightly to the side. "So this is more or less done ... "

"Yes. And the men's suits are all but finished," Jan said. "Are you sure you want me to step in as maid of honor?"

"You organized this whole thing, Jan - you did all the work. More than what any other maid of honor would do," K reasoned. "Besides. It's not like I can reach out to anyone I knew before the whole Weapon X mess. I think you've earned it."

"And … it would be a lovely pairing … seeing as Scott's the best man and Cap's signing for Logan," Jan added.

"I told him I'm fine with waiting until Scott's eighteen -"

"Yes, but then you miss out on two years of legally being one of his guardians," Jan said, sticking a finger in her face. "And I know you don't want to do that, do you?"

"Not particularly, no."

"Then what are you stalling for?" Jan asked, shaking her head before she let out a little laugh. "You're going to be gorgeous, he'll be handsome - and Cap and I - we'll be the best looking witnesses in the history of ever."

K shook her head at Jan's enthusiasm, but didn't try to squash it, instead, simply rolling with it. "Ooh! I also brought the invitations!" Jan blurted out, abandoning K on the pedestal for a moment as she rushed back to the rolling wardrobe for a small box that she clutched to her chest on the way back to K. "Alright. So … we have your date - we have your place - and I'll have the dress ready to go by then … of course …"

K raised an eyebrow at her and tipped her chin down urging her to continue.

"... if just so happens … that … you know … you need it to be let out a little here or there by the time that rolls around …"

K's shoulders dropped and she turned her entire body toward Jan. "I'm not pregnant."

"Oh! I know! I'm just saying … if that changes …"

"It's not going to change."

"Yes! I know! But if it does!" Jan drew in a breath and tipped her chin up, still clutching the box of invitations. "If it does, which I am not saying that it will, even if I totally endorse that path of action - then the cut of the fabric and the lines in the dress will totally accommodate that."

Jean was giggling to herself, one hand over her mouth as K looked entirely unamused. "Fine," K said, all of her proper posture entirely gone for the time being.

Jan beamed up at where K was still on the pedestal and finally handed her the box of invitations. K sighed as she took the box and then stared at the intricate swirl of letters raised on the paper … then frowned as she read through the text. "I don't know where this is," K said, but Jan smiled wider at that.

"Yes, I know. But I do. And it's gorgeous and perfect and exactly what the two of you need. It's woodsy and it should be covered with wildflowers and no one will bother you! Not with all of the Avengers attending! That would be idiotic."

K let out a breath and handed the box to Jean, who was sedately smirking to herself as she watched it go down. But - as soon as it was over, Jan was rushing to set Jean up with her uniform.

"We need to put the dress away - and you, Marvel Girl - need to try out the new threads!" Jan laughed. "Those boys won't know what hit them!"

Jean smirked up at her then took a moment to look disappointed before she could cover it. "Wait," Jan said, catching the little shift. "What's wrong?"

"I guess, I just didn't think yellow and blue was going to be the thing all the way through," Jean admitted, then pulled at a lock of her bright red hair. "I clash terribly."

"That's how uniforms work, kiddo," K said, only half-changed back into her jeans. "Put it on - try it out. I'm sure if you stick with it no one will complain if you alter the norm for your own thing."

Jean tipped her head at that and went over to the screens that Charles had arranged to be in his office for them. She took a few minutes to get changed, and when she finally came out, she was biting her lip as she looked at every angle of it.

"Oh, you look darling," Jan said, grinning. "And the whole team will look so good together! Scott will be so happy!"

"Why?" Jean asked, spinning in place to face Jan.

"He picked out the colors, of course," Jan said before she grinned wider. "When he asked me to start designing for the team!"

"And he picked yellow?" Jean asked, her eyebrows raised.

"He had a few reasons," Jan said with a sly smile. "But - Um .. visibility. It's easier for him to see the brighter colors? So he wanted his team in a color he could spot fast."

"That's the story anyhow," K added. "Add to it his favorite color is blue …"

"Exactly!" Jan said, gesturing to K.

Jean considered it for a moment before she smirked and nodded, looking down at herself. "I guess that makes sense," she said. "I didn't think about it as a visibility issue…"

"You should put on his spare set of glasses," K said. "Might put a few things into perspective for you." She took a moment to tuck her shirt in then crossed the room to give Jan a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for all the great work. You're an angel." She draped her flannel shirt over her shoulder before she started toward the door. "I need to get these to Scott and Logan. They both have people …"

"I already covered the Avengers," Jan said. "So make sure they don't worry about us!"

"Wait, I thought - who else is there?" Jean asked with a frown.

"Well Logan will want to invite the Hudsons, I'm sure," K said. "And he's got some other friends, too." She smiled a little to herself. "And I might have one or two that could make it since it'll be in the redwoods. Phil … we need Phil."

"Who is Phil?"

"Only the greatest SHIELD agent in the history of the entire department," K said.

"High praise," Jean said.

"It's the truth," Jan giggled. "I met him last time we had to deal with SHIELD and he is the best!"

"I love Phil," K agreed. "Though his partner isn't half bad either, honestly. Proper gentleman."

"What about Scott?" Jean asked, though the blush was enough to tip the other two off no matter how she tried to act casual. "I thought he said he didn't have anyone who wasn't here…"

"No one in his family," K said. "He talks about family. That's what counts highest with him." She tipped her head at that. "His brother is out there somewhere, but … he doesn't know where he is yet." K waved her hand as she stepped out of the door. "Don't worry about it. You and the other kids are getting an invite too."

"I'll wear something green," Jean said.

"Sure you don't want yellow?" K called over her shoulder. "Better visibility …. For some people."

Jean flushed. "Well… maybe a soft green," she said.

"Oh, no," Jan said, shaking her head with a bright smile. "You pick whatever color you like best - showcase those pretty eyes of yours!"

"I do like green, though," Jean said.

"And you and I can go shopping together to find something," Jan said. "You do not want to be underdressed for this one."

Jean grinned at that. "I'd like that."

"Oh, good," Jan said brightly. "We need to pick up some things for the other boys too. You can pick their ties, if you like."

"Only if I get to pick all of them," Jean said. "I think Hank needs something blue."

"Yes, of course! That is totally his color!" Jan agreed. She paused for a moment and tipped her head. "In fact … I think they could all use blue - just different shades."

"Bobby needs something light and icy," Jean said with a nod. "Warren's should match his eyes. And Scott needs something… bolder." She blushed. "Or… that's the way I see it."

"Bolder how?" Jan asked with her hands under her chin. "If Warren matches his eyes … and Bobby is light and icy …. Hank is what? Royal blue? So that means Scott … oooh. Clear sky blue? Is that bold enough? Logan already shot me down once on neon - I'm not going to have him come after me for trying again."

"No neon," Jean agreed with a laugh. "But… yes, that sounds right to me. He loves to fly, doesn't he?"

"He really does," Jan said. "Cap said his Dad took him up to Canada for the whole summer just so he could get his hours in for his pilot's license."

"That's what Scott told me," Jean said, smiling as she nodded her agreement. "He talks about it almost as much as he talks about the team."

"Just goes to show how much it means to him," Jan said. "And Cap said he's a natural on the yolk too. He let him fly the quinjet from wherever they were in Canada to New York."

"He still talks about that too," Jean said.

"Sounds like he talks to you a lot," Jan said with one eyebrow raised.

Jean brushed her hair behind her ear with a light blush. "He… I'd rather talk to him than the other boys. They - he's easier to talk to."

"That's sweet," Jan said, biting her lip, though she couldn't know that she was projecting so clearly how exciting that was.

Which, of course, only had Jean blushing even more. "He's …"

"Go on - take your new lovely uniform and show off for the boys." Jan said. "I'll call when I'm coming to take you shopping, okay? We have time."

"Oh… okay," Jean said, though it was obvious she was glad to get away from the projecting Jan didn't even realize she was doing.

Not that it was going to stop Jean from wandering her way toward where Scott and the others were practicing - she did want to debut the uniform, if she was honest. And their reactions didn't disappoint. Warren and Hank both grinned at her outright, and Bobby let out a low whistle, though Scott seemed not to realize that his mouth was partly open until several long seconds later when he cleared his throat.

"Wasp got to you too, huh?" Bobby asked with a crooked grin.

"It was bound to happen, from what I was told," Jean said. "And I got to see the dress."

"You did?" Scott asked.

Jean nodded. "K has the invitations too."

"What's the big deal - it's just a dress, right?" Bobby asked.

"No, it's … it's art," Jean said reverently.

"I'm sure with the Wasp involved, it's exactly that," Hank chuckled.

"K even liked it," Jean said with a little laugh as she walked toward Scott. "It looks like it's from the thirties."

"They're both old-fashioned," Scott said, though he was staring, even if the glasses hid it better on him than the other boys.

Jean smiled lightly at him and then held her arms out to take a little spin. "So? What do you think? Will it be okay?"

"More than okay," Warren said with a grin.

"Yeah," Scott said in a breath. "It… looks great."

"Oh, good," Jean said, reaching up out of habit to brush back a lock of hair - though with her mask on - it was clear that it was purely habit and she had no idea how to cover that little gesture. "So. We all match then, right? Do you have room for me to join you?"

"Of course!" Warren said.

Scott nodded. "We don't have a cap on how many people are on the team," he said.

She tried to stand up a bit straighter and hugged her elbows. "So … maybe I can stand back and watch first? Just to see what we're supposed to do?"

"Oh yeah. Watch this!" Bobby said with a grin, prompting all four of the boys to amp up their game as they switched to a new program.

And it was, in fact, an impressive sight. It was clear that they had learned a few tricks working together so that even obstacles that they wouldn't be able to take down on their own were easy enough when faced with all four of them. Warren was adept at flying himself and others where Scott called out to him, and Hank was as elegant pulling apart machinery as he was strong when he opted to tear it apart instead. And Bobby was skating on ice faster than usual, icing up lasers and robots with abandon.

Jean was starting to feel as if she was entirely out of place with the boys doing their thing. It didn't look to her like there was a spot for her in the lineup when they were working so well together. Until of course, they weren't.

It all happened too fast to even attempt to reverse. An overly enthusiastic Bobby got a little too close to one of the robots as Hank threw a second robot into it. The action managed to break Bobby's ice slide - while he was a solid thirty feet in the air, and unfortunately, Warren was on the far side of the room - too far out to get to Bobby in time to catch him.

Scott had just sworn and was rushing to find a way to keep Bobby from hitting the ground when Jean sucked in a sharp breath and simply reached out to pluck him out of the air. And hold him there. None of the boys really had any idea what had happened at first.

"This is really weird," Bobby said at last, breaking the silence before he glanced over at Jean and her outstretched hand. "Woah."

"It's … easier when you don't … move," Jean said, slowly moving him closer to the ground.

Bobby tried to stay still, though he was grinning when his feet hit the ground, and he flashed Jean a thumbs up. "Couldn't let me get hurt, right?"

"What are teammates for?" Jean said with a shrug before she tipped her face toward the ground. Her head was hurting her. She wasn't used to directing it so precisely - particularly with a person for a target.

Bobby grinned even wider at that. "That was amazing!"

"You okay, Jean?" Scott asked with a frown.

"Oh sure," Jean said. "Just a little dizzy. I'll be fine."

Scott shook his head. "Your nose… are you sure?"

She looked surprised for a moment before she wiped her nose with the side of her hand and started muttering under her breath. "Yeah. I'll … I'm fine," she said, though she was headed for the door.

Scott frowned at that before he took off after her and caught her before she could get too far into the hallway. "Jean, it's okay," he promised. "It's okay - no one's going to think any less of you if your powers have a downside. We don't want you to hurt yourself either."

"I'm getting stronger," she swore. "I just … I didn't really expect to do that. I just reacted."

"And you did great, really," Scott said. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

She was halfway hiding her face from him, and her shoulders were scrunched up as she nodded. "I'm ...okay."

"Jean." Scott tried to catch her gaze and then let out a breath. "It's okay. I get it. I have the same problem if I run out." He tapped the side of his head. "I don't get a nosebleed, but I get a headache. A killer one, I mean. More than the usual."

"I didn't think I'd over do it in the first thirty seconds, that's all," she said quietly. "I'll … I should let you get back to the team. I'm going to try to deal with … this."

Scott frowned and then reached out to grab her arm. "Jean," he said just as quietly, "really. It's okay. All of us struggled to get used to our powers when we first got here. Warren wouldn't even fly for a month because he was worried about how we'd react. And Bobby still runs out of ice when he's not thinking about it."

She shrugged and then gestured to herself. "Yeah, well … I don't know what I'm doing. And I don't know what I can even offer. I don't know how to fight. And obviously I'm nowhere near … anything."

Scott shook his head. "Bobby didn't have any clue what he was doing either - worse than the rest of us," he told her quietly with a smirk. "Fighting… that's something you have to learn. We all did. It's not your fault that you're the newest student. You can't compare yourself to us when we've been doing it longer." He smiled at her. "Besides, I can tell you - we could use a telepath on the team. I can't tell you how much having Professor X around to help us find someone in trouble has helped."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Jean said. "I just … don't know that I want to hear all of it yet."

"Can't you send messages without hearing all of it?" Scott asked. "That's what the professor does."

"The professor listens more than you think he does then," Jean said. "I could but then there would be no way to know if the message was delivered right, or if they were paying attention. Or if you needed something else … it's not a smart move."

Scott nodded slowly. "That makes sense," he admitted. "I just … don't want you to give up on the team."

"I just think this … I was following everyone's lead. This was just … too early."

Scott frowned, obviously trying to come up with an argument, before he let out a breath and leaned forward. "If it makes you feel any better," he said, "the first mission I ever went on for the professor, I got myself and Bobby captured, tied up, and dragged through the streets before Mom rescued us."

"Your mom rescued you?" Jean asked.

Scott rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah… she'd come to talk to Bobby's parents, and while I was with Bobby getting a lesson in mob mentality…." He shrugged. "You're not the only one who has growing pains. You just weren't around for ours."

"Right. So I get the audience," Jean said with a frown, crossing her arms.

"You… don't have to," Scott said. "I mean… if you want to learn to fight…" He flushed red. "Well, my dad taught me even before I got here. I could… if you wanted to… I could help you out…"

"Are you sure you could hit me?" Jean asked.

"It wouldn't… I started with basic forms and… and it's not all about punching…"

"Shows what I know," Jean said dully.

Scott shook his head. "I didn't know when I started either," he said quickly. "And… and I'd really like you to stay. On the team."

She gave him a little half hearted smile. "You really don't have a lot of free time as it is," Jean said. "And … you have a wedding to get ready for. It's not that far off."

"Yeah…" Scott bit his lip. "Well… why don't… why don't you at least try some basics with me? After my sessions with the professor?"

"Are you sure?" Jean asked. "I'm usually ready for a nap after my sessions with him. I thought it was like that for everyone."

"It helps to have something physical to do after spending all that time in my head," Scott admitted. "I usually go for a run, but I'd rather… I mean… if you really want to learn…"

"I'd like to try it," she agreed. "So … alright. I guess … it's a … fight. Or something."