Based on the episode "Beck Falls for Tori".

...

"Hey, Cat," Beck said patiently as felt the intent stare of the small redhead. His back might be to her at the moment, but he imagined that little Miss Bo Peep - as she was currently costumed - was wanting something.

"Beeeeck?"

That was her wheedling tone. He was right. She was here to ask for something. She had no problem frankly asking for things, much like a child, so for her to be putting effort into asking was an indication that she expected him to resist.

"What is it, Cat?" he asked, resigned.

"Can I pleeeease make you a costume?"

He tried to hide a groan. Costuming was a bother enough when it was required for a performance. The idea of playing dress-up for the fun of it was not something that made his heart filled with joy.

"Aren't you busy making your own costumes?" he asked. Cat shook her head wildly.

"I already made myself lots and lots of costumes! I made this one for Little Bo Peep - although Andre called it Little Boy Poo, which was not funny!"

Beck had to turn back to his locker to hide his twitching lips. Cat's costume design class could be a bit ... much for everyone around her. Still, he should try to be supportive for her sake.

"What other costumes have you made?" he asked while switching out his books for his next class.

"I'm making a teacher one" - that would be interesting to see how Cat viewed teachers - "and a super girl outfit! Beck, I'm gonna be a superhero!" she cheered excitedly.

"That's great, Cat," he said absent mindedly. Did he want pens or pencils for taking notes in this class?

"And I made a princess one too, of course."

"Of course." Did he have any working pens?

"But now the teacher wants me to practice making costumes on other body types and sizes. She says that we'll need to know how to do that in the real world. But isn't this world real too?"

"Uh huh." He preferred taking notes in pen, but he often got ink all over his hands and right after this class he had photography and he didn't want the teacher to think his hands were dirty while handling the equipment. Probably best to go with the pencils...

"My teacher said I should try designing some boy costumes. So will you let me do a costume for you? I don't want to do it for Andre after this because he made fun of me!" She let out an indignant huff as punctuation.

"Uh huh. Sure," Beck muttered, still more focused on finding a sharp pencil in his locker.

"Really? Thanks!"

It was when he was squeezed by one of Cat's friendly hugs that Beck realized he had inadvertently committed himself to being a model for her costume designing. Great. Just great. It wasn't like he could pull a Jade like at lunch when she had easily distracted Cat with a colouring book (from which he was now the recipient of a colour-streaked page). He had committed, and there was no way he could disappoint her now, not with those gleaming brown eyes looking up at him so trustingly.

"I knew you'd say 'yes'!"

Yeah, there was no way he was getting out of this.

"What kind of costume?" he asked, trying not to sound as weary as he felt.

"What kind do you want?" she replied promptly.

"I don't know. Can I have a little time to think about it?" he hedged.

"Okay! Just let me know soon so I can start working on it. I can't wait to get to dress you up! I never get to do that except with my stuffed animals."

Beck groaned to himself as Cat skipped off, her large nursery-rhyme inspired skirt swaying from side to side as she headed to class. Why couldn't he have focused on the conversation rather than pencils?!

...

The unintended commitment turned out to be helpful when Beck came up with the idea to take on the stunt that had Tori petrified.

"I have to ask Cat a favour," he told Jade at lunch. "I'm trying to figure out if it's possible for me to ..."

"So you can hang out with her a little after school?" Jade asked in a fluster.

"Yeah, probably, as long as she's free. Why?" Beck asked.

"Good. She's been acting ... I don't know, little lately. It's hard to explain, but you see it, right? I'm not just imagining that her focus is really bad, she's hyper all the time ..." Her voice faded away as she saw Cat across the courtyard with Tori, getting their lunch. Cat waved wildly and Jade waved back, forcing a bright smile to her face before turning back to Beck and letting the worry realign on her face.

"Am I imagining it? Please tell me I'm imagining it." There was a twinge of panic at the end.

"Well, she's always bubbly and a bit ... ditzy," Beck said softly and with nothing but love in his voice as he looked over at Cat too, who was spinning in a rainbow tutu next to Tori who was trying to balance both of their lunches in her arms while waiting for Cat to refocus. His eyes saddened a little as concern crept into his tone as he answered Jade honestly, "But I do think that maybe she's a bit different from last year."

He felt Jade reach over and squeeze his hand tightly.

"I don't like it," she whispered.

"Maybe it'll ... wear off. Maybe she's just ... method acting some of her characters?" he said hopefully. They both knew it was a lie, an attempt to escape the growing truth, but they were still young too. They might take care of Cat at school - and sometimes out of school as well - but they were not her actual caregivers. They did not have all the resources to get her help - not the way her actual parents could.

"Maybe," Jade said softly. She sighed. "I have to babysit my brother tonight. I had been planning on spending some extra time with Cat. I was thinking maybe she's just been a bit lonely lately? But I have to put it off, but if you need her help with something then maybe..."

"I'll hang out with her tonight, and then ... oh, hi, Cat. Hey, Tori."

"We got our lunches!" Cat cheered, sitting down next to Jade and immediately producing the colouring book Jade had given her yesterday. Clearly its amusement had a staying power.

"You mean I got our lunches. You just twirled like a 'happy princess fairy' the whole time," Tori complained, setting down their taco salads.

"Sounds like she was an awesome help," Jade said with an amused tone that made Tori roll her eyes indulgently before handing Cat her utensil packet.

"Cat, can we work on that costume thing tonight? I have an idea of what kind of costume I'd like," Beck told her. He was not going to mention the particular costume now - a replica of Tori's dress - as he wanted to make sure the plan was doable before getting Tori's hopes up.

"Sure! We can work on it right here at school after the day's done!" Cat said eagerly. "And Jade can stay too, and then we can go get hot dogs or waffles for supper, and then we can get ice cream and go to the park and watch the ducks and ..."

"I have to babysit my brother," Jade interrupted the incredibly long list of Cat's evening hopes and dreams.

Cat's face fell a bit, and Beck countered, "Maybe another time, okay, Cat?"

Her smile returned. "Okay! But can we at least have snacks while doing the costume?"

"Sure. Whatever you want from the vending machine is yours."

Jade shot him a look.

"As I said, any three things you want from the vending machine are yours."

"Better," Jade said softly. "You don't want her hyped up right now if you need her focused for whatever costume you're doing together."

"Good point!"

...

Cat, as expected, loved the idea of making Beck a replica of Tori's costume, although she did giggle at the idea of him being in a dress. The idea of creating a costume that would come with a story of being used as a stunt double's double's costume (or a double stunt double dress, as she phrased it) thrilled her.

"My teacher will be so proud of me," she muttered happily to herself as she took Beck's measurements in the costume design classroom that doubled as a sewing room. Cat and Beck were taking advantage of the fabric and embellishments provided there for practice sewing to recreate the costume in his size.

"And you should be proud of yourself. You do really good with your costumes," Beck told her.

"Really?!" she asked, a little surprised.

"Of course!" He looked at her closely. "Don't you think you should be proud of yourself? You do such a good job. You're clearly talented."

"I am?"

"Yes. For goodness sake, Cat, you've already made how many costumes for this class? Usually students make three. I think you made that in the first week."

A smile sneaked onto her face. "I didn't know I was doing a good job." Her lips quivered a little as she admitted, "I don't think I usually do good at school."

"That's not..." Beck hesitated. He did not know all of Cat's grades, but he knew that she did struggle outside of the arts classes, and sometimes even in them. He corrected himself to, "I think you do well at all the things you need to do well at."

"What does that mean?" she asked, pinning a pattern to some fabric she had matched to the photos of Tori's costume she had taken the previous day.

His heart hurt a little. He could see the playfulness and energy often disguised some of Cat's deeper insecurities. Clearing his throat, he said sincerely, "I think you're the perfect Cat Valentine, and one thing - among many - that you do well is costuming."

She paused pinning the pattern and ran over to him and squeezed him in a hug.

"Thanks, Beck."

"Thank you, Cat."

She peered at him hopefully. "Can we get some more snacks from the vending machine?"

"You already had a soda, a candy bar, and chips."

She kept giving him the pleading look.

"Fine! One more."

"But I'm huuuungry!"

"What if we stop by to pick up Jade when she's done babysitting and we can go pick up supper? She'll be done at 5:30. When do you think we'll be done here?"

"By 5:30!"

"Are you just saying that because I said it, or because it'll actually be done by then?"

"It'll be done ... if I have an extra soda and candy bar to give me energy."

"Cat!"

"Please?"

"...Fine."

...

Jade had patiently waited to see the "costume reveal". Cat had built it up, and she had assumed Beck was humouring her. But when she recognized Beck's familiar frame instead of Tori's up on the balcony, Cat's "secret agent" costume made a whole lot more sense. She put together the facts just in time to watch her boyfriend perform the stunt perfectly, and when Beck reappeared with a purple bundle in his arms that Cat eagerly reclaimed to show in class, Jade rolled her eyes and kissed him.

"Great job," she whispered.

"And now I want my hot dog," Cat interrupted, tugging on their hands. "And I coloured more in the colouring book, Jade! You need to see all the pictures now."

"I think a hot dog is a fine fee for wonderful costuming design," Beck said softly so that the crew would not overhear and realize it was him, not Tori who did the stunt.

"Six hot dogs - two for me, two for you, two for Jade."

Although there may have been some disguises involved over the last few days, Cat's joy could never be hidden for long.

"Hot dogs it is. Let's go, kid," Beck said indulgently, wrapping his arm around Jade as they headed for the entrance with Cat dancing in front of them.

"I like this!" Cat cheered. "Jade, do you need a costume too? Because I'd like some french fries too..."

...

Hope you enjoyed!