Chapter 24 - Crushed
As it turned out, Clint and Natasha's second-oldest girl was a mutant, which meant the trip to Westchester for the family - not that Katie was at all bummed about it. She'd been missing her best friend fiercely and couldn't wait to tell him about how his brother was getting into trouble with May Parker and how Spidey refused to believe that May was the source of the trouble.
Nate seriously needed to hurry up and be done with his telepathy control stuff so Katie could get back to teasing people with him.
So she was grinning as she bounded out of her parents' car and bounced past Mia - who knew exactly who Katie was looking for and directed her toward the living room with a whispered: "He needs rescuing. An idiot blonde has him cornered."
Which was great! Then Katie could tease him about being the damsel in distress again.
Except… Nate didn't need rescuing. In fact, Katie barely got a glimpse of the two of them on the couch in a lip-lock before she slammed the door shut, turned purple, and skipped out of there as fast as she could.
She'd never seen Nate kiss anybody else before, and she didn't know what to do with that information. Her brain was basically rejecting the whole idea on the premise that it was too weird.
She made it out to the family car - her mom was dealing with Storm and talking about Lexi's newfound ability to gossip with every bird in New York and to talk to Lucky - and had thought that no one had noticed her quick escape until her dad got in the car from the other side and sat down with her with one eyebrow raised.
And, look, everyone always talked about how her mom was the spy and could get what she wanted with a look, but when her dad pulled that look, it was all over. The next thing Katie knew, she just started crying, and she couldn't figure out how to stop, especially once her dad hugged her and that just seemed to be like giving her permission to fall apart even more.
Eventually, when she felt like she'd cried hard enough that she was starting to come back down to Earth, Clint asked, "So, what happened - and is anyone going to care where I bury the body?"
Despite how terrible she was feeling, Katie ended up laughing as she shook her head and wiped her eyes. "It's stupid," she said, her cheeks still burning bright red.
"Doesn't look stupid to me," Clint said.
"It's Nate."
"I stand corrected."
Katie burst into a little laugh and finally managed to get her cheeks dry. "He's just… never … I mean, I didn't mean to walk in on him making out with a bottle-blonde, but…"
"But he's an idiot."
Katie sniffled and nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I guess he can kiss whoever he wants… I just…" She drew her shoulders up. "I guess I like him, Dad."
"You can do better."
"Yeah, I know," Katie said. "I just didn't even know I liked him, y'know?" She winced out a tiny smile. "Oops?"
Clint couldn't stop his smile. "I honestly don't know if you're more like me or your mom that way."
"Well, Mom says she figured it out one of the times you were, like, dying, so at least I didn't do that," Katie pointed out.
"Maybe he needs to be dying to figure it out … I can arrange that, you know. I know a guy."
Katie laughed and rested her head on Clint's shoulder. "Love you too, Dad."
"Sorry your friend is a moron," Clint said, pulling her in for a bear hug. "If it makes you feel any better at all, most guys at his age are. Hell. most guys at my age are. Sorry 'bout that."
"Yeah, Rachel was complaining about it last time the Summerses were over," Kate said with a small smile.
"I have heard a lot about what little Rachel Summers has been forced to hear."
"Have I mentioned I'm perfectly happy being a non-telepath human?" Katie said, her eyes wide. "Because I am. Very, very happy about it."
"I'll bet. Come on, let's say good luck to your sister and get out of this place, huh?"
Katie nodded and gave her dad one more hug. "Let's jet," she agreed.
"Taser arrows," James said out of nowhere. "I can make 'em tiny. Like darts. He won't see them coming."
Katie looked up from the homework she had been doing at the tower. James was ridiculously sneaky, which she didn't think was fair, and she hadn't heard him coming until just that moment when he'd spoken up. "Who won't see them coming?" she asked.
"Anyone that's dumb enough to have ticked you off," he said, raising one eyebrow. "Anyone I know?"
"Oh, just that idiot brother of yours has been kissing blondes," Katie grumbled, flushing pink. She wasn't sure what had given her away, since she'd sworn her dad to secrecy.
"Glitter bomb if you don't want to hurt him. But I still think a taser is appropriate. Just be sure you shoot him in the butt."
"It would be more satisfying to shoot her, since she was the one, um, being pushy…" Katie said, drifting off and really not wanting to talk about what she'd seen.
"Stink bomb then. Or something to dye her hair … orange. Like neon orange."
Katie smirked. "That last one for sure."
"It'd dye the skin, too." James leaned on the chair next to her. "But … how about a study break?" He peeked over her shoulder. "You've got this lesson down."
Katie let her shoulders drop but closed the book. "Yeah, I was just trying to look busy," she admitted. "Dad keeps offering neutering services, and I love him, but I'm trying not to be that girl, you know? Not like I ever asked Nate out anyway."
"Did you even know you liked him before the skank encounter?" James asked as he offered her a hand up.
"Well, no," Katie said slowly.
"Then you can't kick yourself over it." He leaned toward her and let his voice drop lower. "He was not prepared for her at all. It won't last long. But in the meantime, you look like you could use a coffee. Or a cocoa. And I have a short list of coffee shops that your mom won't stroke out over if I go to them … so we need to ignore that list and find a new one."
Katie laughed. "She might stroke out if she thinks I'm rebounding with you - especially if she thinks I'm rebounding cheating with May's guy."
"You're not rebounding. You're just … getting some coffee with me." He snapped his fingers. "You're my chaperone. Responsible party."
"James, I hate to tell you this, but if I'm the responsible party, we're all in trouble," Katie laughed.
"We'll have fun," he said, grinning at her. "Come on. What's it gonna hurt? Cross my heart, I'm not hitting on you. You're too much like a dorky little sister to me."
"We're practically the same age," Katie said, rolling her eyes.
"Still not the same."
"One month!"
"So you should be more mature. Are you coming or what?" James was still smiling at her. "May's going to be at her debate club all afternoon and it's definitely time for a break from here. So count yourself lucky because she wouldn't ask before retaliating against him or his skank."
Katie smiled and shook her head. "I'm coming," she said, taking a few quick steps to catch up to him. "Your girlfriend is trouble, you know that? I love her."
"What? She's just … creative. And starting to get spider-powers."
"Which is why you like hanging out with her so much," Katie pointed out. "But if it's alright with you, can we just talk about something not related to dating for a while?"
"Anything but Nate, yes. Please. That's what I was hoping for."
Katie smiled and let James lead the way as the two of them talked about Tony's latest shenanigans, not to mention how Lexi was getting along with classes in Westchester and how James' dad was still trying to fend off single women in their neighborhood without stepping on any toes.
Eventually, they got to the cafe and settled down with their coffee, now well into a discussion of Katie's love of sports colliding with sleazy and sexist coaches the older she got. She told him she was leaning toward cheerleading at this point because the soccer and softball coaches were both driving her nuts.
"I will 100% beat the daylights out of any coach that looks at you crooked," James promised. "I'll even make it look like an accident."
Katie laughed. "Mom's already taking care of it."
"She's a hog when it comes to that stuff you know. And we should really watch out for her the older she gets."
"Well, you know I've been talking to Aunt Jan about designing something for me for that secret project we're definitely not supposed to be even considering…"
"Ah," James said, leaning back slightly.
"Nate let me in on it," Katie explained. "I hope that's okay, even if I'm not, you know…"
"I'm not even sure I'm in on it," James said. "I know about it, sure, I just … don't know that it's a smart move. And even though I know you're going to go into the one team, just … think it over before you commit to anything like the other one."
"Yeah, Jan sat me down to have a good talk when I approached her," Katie told him honestly. "She saw how messed up your dad was after what happened - how messed up he still is - and … she says she'll totally design for us if we do it, but I think I got her version of 'buyer beware'."
James looked surprised to hear it. "Really."
"You know she was really torn up about everything after that breakup, right? Not just the romantic angle," Katie pointed out.
"Ah, yeah, I was the only one that came up here when it was still fresh," James said. "Pretty sure I buried myself in applied astrophysics for a month. You know … before I ended up spending too much time with Franklin."
Katie nodded. "Still. If it's okay, I'd like to do it if you guys decide to go through with it." She paused. "Even if Nate's still being an idiot. Not like I only wanted to help for him."
"They're going through with it," James said. "I'm the only one on the fence. They've wanted to forever, I doubt they'll back off until they at least try it."
"Then I guess I'll have to back them up so they aren't even stupider than usual." Katie pulled a face. "Nate alone…"
"That is a really big job for just one person," James said seriously. "Both of them when they're secret keeping too?" He let out a noise of disgust. "Makes me glad I can block them out. It's nice to be defective sometimes. Make them speak."
"Actually, I like talking with Nate when he's-" She paused, blushed, and then let her shoulders drop. "Oh, never mind. That would be super awkward right about now."
"Katie. Come on. Don't lose your stride now." He dipped his head down to catch her gaze. "Do you need chocolate or explosives?"
"Um, yes?" Katie said, with one eye closed. "Sorry, I'm just…"
"You can take it out on me if you need to," James said.
Katie let out a laugh that didn't sound like her and instead of getting mad at him she started to cry a little bit. "Not your fault your brother is like this," she said. "And I really should get over it; I should."
James let out a sigh and got up to cross over to her side of the booth and wrapped her up in a hug. "I'm sorry, Katie. It's not your problem to fix."
Katie leaned her forehead on his shoulder as she hugged him back tightly with a soft, "I know."
They would have stayed like that for as long as Katie needed the hug, too - but they were joined by an unexpected visitor. A girl with curly, dark hair and a cropped hoodie that showed off her midriff sat down at their table and tipped her head at the two of them. "So, who's the jerk that made a gorgeous girl cry and can I help pound him?"
"Got it covered, thanks, new girl," James said.
"Yeah, you're a great shoulder to cry on; I can see that," the girl said before she held her hand out to Kate. "America Chavez, by the way. And my offer's good. I think most sleazebags deserve a beating anyway, but for a pretty girl, I'll go out of my way for it."
James couldn't help but laugh under his breath. "Okay, sure … been offered already and he's not that big of a sleaze. Just … stupid."
"He's dating an idiot blonde," Katie explained, smiling in spite of herself at America's brazen approach.
"Over you? Chica, you can do so much better than a blind moron," America said, smiling easily.
"She's not wrong," James said quietly as he sat back, though he didn't move away from her as he watched America.
"Yeah, I've gotten that message a few dozen times over, thanks," Katie said, brushing a hand through her hair.
James drew in a slow breath, subtly testing the air, then turned his head toward the counter. "Would you ladies like a refill? I'm buying."
"Well, if you're buying, I won't turn you down," America said easily.
James slid her a napkin. "Write down what you want. I know what she likes to order."
America smirked, took the napkin, wrote down her phone number - and gave it to Kate instead. "I'll just have cocoa, gracias."
James smirked and stood up. "De nada. You girls have fun. Don't worry, I'll take my time."
Katie was smiling in disbelief as she watched James leave and then pocketed the napkin with America's phone number on it. "Okay, I admit it: that was a good move."
"Hey, my opening move of offering to be a knight in shining armor didn't wow you," America laughed. "And you are very pretty."
Katie blushed. "You're not so bad yourself."
"I'll take it." America leaned forward with a smile. "Is 'not so bad' enough for a coffee date without your friend around?"
"We'll see," Katie laughed, knowing her mom would have a fit if she didn't at least run America's number through a few databases before she went anywhere alone.
When James came back a while later with drinks for the three of them, he couldn't help but slide another napkin to America. "Number of the barista in case you can't get any traction," he said as casually as breathing.
America laughed and pocketed the number. "Consolation prize. Nice. Should I be worried?" She was looking at James but obviously directing the question to Katie, who laughed and shook her head.
"Bout what?" James asked.
"Well, you're the friend she cries on in public. You've got sway," America teased him. "If you're already prepping me for failure with a backup option…"
"I've got a girlfriend. And I like to help wherever I can," he said with a crooked smile.
"So do I," she said, matching his smile with one of her own. "And I think I'm doing fine without the consolation number."
"I help even when it's my own brother being the idiot in question," James said.
"Ooh, that is a good friend. You're lucky, Princess," America said, grinning Katie's way.
"I know it, too," Katie said, smiling over the top of her coffee cup.
America grinned wider and then got to her feet. "Call me when you're ready to wash the taste of the idiot brother out of your mouth," she told Katie, all but bouncing out of the cafe.
James waited just long enough for the door to close behind America before he turned toward Katie with one eyebrow raised - and not a word spoken.
Katie threw both hands up. "I don't know. Maybe."
"She's cute. She seems like fun. And she wasn't being deceptive or sneaky about anything."
"No, I don't have to have a super sniffer to know how open she was being," Katie agreed, smiling in spite of herself.
"It wasn't a line either," James said.
"Well, that's good, because if I do end up kissing a girl, I don't want to dig up that conversation with, like, everyone for a line," Katie said.
"No one will bother you on that front," James said with a wave. "If you go for it now, when you're all … heartbroken, they'd probably just chalk it up to rebound or a fluke thing or … honestly the furthest thing from Nate you can find."
Katie shrugged. "I dunno. I guess it can't hurt to try it out, right?"
James held up one hand. "And I swear I won't breathe a word or have a thought about you or your pretty girlfriend to Nate or Rachel."
"No, no, you can definitely think about it around them," Katie said quickly.
"Yeah, I can. And they won't know anyhow," James said. "Cut 'em out, remember?"
"No, I mean…" Katie flushed. "I mean, turnabout…"
"Test the waters," James said, smirking and nodding slowly. "Yeah, okay. Or … ask her out. We can double. He'd hear about it through proxy by Dad and your mom won't have fits if you're not alone." He pulled out his phone and started texting May.
"James, has anyone told you you're a genius?" Katie asked, leaning over to kiss his cheek.
"Nope," he said, smirking wider as May replied with an enthusiastic 'when and where' that he tipped so Kate could read. "Genius hasn't come up."
Katie grinned. "Okay, but let me at least run her number or my mom will kill me. And besides, you don't call the same day you get the number."
James pointed at the cup America had left behind. "I was gonna run DNA, but sure. A phone trace won't be a problem either."
"Awww, you look out for me so well," she gushed.
"I have to. I'm a whole month older." When he got up, he carefully snatched America's empty cup. "Ready to go back? Just tell May the when and where. Don't worry about her parents. She'll get out anyhow."
Katie laughed. "You two are going to get in so much trouble one of these days. More than the usual level you get into."
He frowned at her. "What are you talking about? We're perfectly innocent."
"Yes, of course," Katie said, nodding along before she pulled her arm through his. "Now, come on. Let's get home so we can set up a double date."