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Kate was in a much better mood than she had been with the recent mess about not!Iron Lad, and wondering how Cassie was dealing. She was currently in the Media library, humming along to some music cheerfully. She wondered how it would sound like on a cello, how to adapt these particular chords to the strings.

She was also smiling contently, casually thinking of a certain recent event with a certain someone. Maybe she'll go play something in the Sensoriums a little later.

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"I think I remember you telling me about that," Paco said. He definitely remembered very manfully preventing himself from making Band Camp jokes. "Ours weren't structured like summer camps. Just 'grab the back packs and the sleeping bags, and I will throw any textbooks I find into the bushes'."

Kate nodded, "Sounds like a good idea. More like some of our get togethers back home."

"Get togethers with your team, or someone else?" Paco teased with a bit of a grin. "'Cause I'm having trouble picturing Jonas wearing hiking boots and pitching a tent."

"With my team. But we never camped together. Not even with Eli."

"Yeah, I guess you'd have to go pretty far to go camping if you live in New York City," Paco said.

Was it just him, or was that an awkward silence on the horizon?

"Well family's got a place in the Catskills, but haven't really been there since my mom died."

There was and she was still trying to hide any signs of guilt as she glanced away for a moment.

Wow, and if that impending awkward silence wasn't enough to kill the conversation, the Dead Parent card Kate had just played would have done it on its own. Brutal.

"Tell you what. After the Boys' Night, we'll do a co-ed camp-out. Bugs, snipe-hunts, and all that."

It was simply a part of her life. She's had a few years to adjust to it, even though it never gets easier.

"Sounds like fun," she agreed.

"Consider it in the plans for Team Have Some Freaking Fun Already," Paco said.

The silence loomed. Paco took a deep breath and considered his next words carefully.

"So, how are you doing? Really doing, not just time-traveling teammates and school work and stuff."

Kate nodded and smiled. His next question made her glanced down again, fidgeting with her fingers.

"Good. It's been good."

She then added, "Ok, better than good. Great even." Ok, trying to play it cool... Just don't show the guilt... or any blushing.

...Crap, her cheeks felt a little warm.

Paco blinked, a little surprised by that admission. It seemed like time really did heal everything, if Kate was already back to "great".

"I'm glad to hear that," he said with a smile. "I was thinking for awhile there that we were going to have a long, hard slog ahead of..."

...Was she blushing? She was blushing. Paco very suddenly had a sinking feeling about what was so "great" about Kate's life right now.

"...Us."

Crap. Crapcrapcrap...

He didn't say 'us.' He didn't.

He did. Oh god.

He still wanted things to work out, and now she felt terrible.

"I.. I..." Dammit just spit it out. Sorry, I kissed someone else? Well Tony did kiss her first. But she did kiss back. A few times even. And she only briefly thought of Paco in passing.

Crap, people were going to be hurt either way. Her cheeks were burning for another reason, and she couldn't hide the guilt this time.

Oh wow, that awkward silence was more awkward than he'd thought it was going to be.

Then again, he didn't know that she'd found someone else. It could be something else. Maybe.

...

Probably not.

He'd at least wait to her her say it. In case he was wrong.

"Yeah?"

"I...I..." She started again, trying to get words out. I kissed him. I'm sorry. I can't get back together with you.

Kate took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "I can't, sorry. I met someone."

Ouch.

Paco sighed, then dug up a lopsided smile.

"That's cool, don't worry about it. We agreed it was a casual thing, yeah?"

Man, he hadn't been dumped-and-replaced since Terri Vargas back in fifth grade.

That smile just made things worse.

"I thought we did..." Granted she didn't have much hope for it after the Yeerk thing, and still getting nightmares at times.

"I'm sorry. We... kissed, and he's really cool... and you don't want to hear that part."

No, he didn't need to know any of that. He didn't even really need to be here right now.

"It's cool. I'll just...catch up with you later, all right? And, you know, if the guy ever needs a whack upside the head, you can give me a shout."

Least she hasn't said who the 'he' was yet. She'll spare him that for now. (Even though she mentioned to her friend Stature, but that was girl talk stuff.)

"Sure. I'll let you know." She sighed, and lifted her bow to start firing again. Not watching him go.

"Later," Paco said, backing away a little before turning and stepping out the door. He closed it behind and rubbed a hand over his eyes, before setting off in the direction of the Hub.

He really needed to talk to Jaime.

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