Jubilee couldn't stop giggling, her exhaustion momentarily fotten as she leaned on a boulder for support. "Aron, I gotta say, for someone who talks about focus and trol, you sure know how to lose it!" She doubled hing again. "Your hair, though! Gone. Poof! That riceless."

  I groaned, ping the bridge of my hanks to my healing factor and Phoenix, my hair came back, but she won't let this one go. "Jubilee, let's just move on, okay? You wao see your potential. You saw it. End of story."

  "Oh no, this isn't the end of the story. This is going in the official records. I'm calling it 'The Naked Jellyfish I,'" she teased, wiping tears of ughter from her eyes.

  I shot her a mock gre. "Careful, Jubilee. I still have trol over your training schedule, and I make it ten times harder."

  "Yeah, yeah," she waved me off, a pyful smirk still lingering. "What's , oh great coach? Another dimension? Maybe you'll summon a bck hole this time?"

  "Funny," I said dryly. ", we focus on refining your trol. You've unleashed your raw power, but now it's about precision. No point blowing up a mountain if you 't aim at a moving target."

  Jubilee straightened, her expression shifting to something more serious. "Okay, fine. I get it. But... thanks. For real. I know I joke a lot, but you're right. I've been holding back for so long, I didn't think I had it in me. You're helping me see what I actually do."

  Her siy caught me off guard for a moment, but I shrugged it off. "Don't get all mushy on me now, Jubilee. Just foproving. That's all the thanks I need."

  "Pfft, sure. Just admit you like hearing it," she quipped, but there was a warmth ione.

  The night stretched on as we worked on smaller, trolled bursts of energy. I set up a series of moving targets. A mix of holograms and physical objects. I told Jubilee to hit them with proper trol. The first few attempts were rough; her bsts either missed entirely or obliterated everything in sight.

  "You're overthinking again," I said, dodging an errant psma bolt. "Feel the energy flow, but don't let it scatter. Direct it like you're pointing a ser."

  "Yeah, yeah, ser. Got it," she muttered, her brows furrowed in tration. 'As if I trate after seeing that hot bod.' She extended her hand, the energy gathering more tightly this time. She fired, and the bolt zipped through the air, hitting a holographic drone dead ter. It exploded in a satisfying burst.

  "Bulls-eye!" she shouted, pung the air.

  "Better," I said, nodding. "Now do it ten more times without missing."

  "Sve driver," she grumbled, but she was smiling as she reset her stance.

  The m, the exhaustion finally caught up with her. Jubilee sprawled out on the cracked ground, her arms and legs spyed like a starfish. "I'm dead," she decred. "You've officially killed me."

  "Good," I replied, sitting on a roearby. "That means you're w hard."

  "Hard? I feel like my soul left my body three ho," she said, groaning. "'t we take a break? Eat something? Sleep for a week?"

  I chuckled, tossing her a water bottle. "Fine. Rest for now. But don't get too fortable. We're just getting started."

  She groaned again but managed a small smile. "You're insane, Aron. But thanks. I think I'm actually starting to believe I do this."

  "That's the idea," I said, leaning back to watch the sunrise. "And trust me, Jubilee... this is just the beginning."

  The silence of the cracked, barren nd stretched around us as Jubilee y sprawled on the ground, exhausted. I sat a few feet away, sipping water, her. Her powers were improving, no doubt about it. But her focus still wavered too much. And right now? Her mind was drifting again.

  She kept sneaking g me... You know, quid almost imperceptible, but I caught them every time. Her expression was unreadable, at least to anyone who wasn't me. I knew better. I always knew better.

  Her thoughts were an open book, no matter how tightly she tried to shut it. Why's she even thinking about that right now? I tilted my head, tuning in just enough to catch a thread. And when I did, it almost made me choke on my water.

  Muscles? My ass? Seriously, Jubilee? Her thoughts were running wild, and they weren't about improving her energy trol, that's for sure.

  'I bet Kitty gets to have all the fun,' she was thinking. 'She's probably jumping his bones every night, lucky girl. Ugh, that ass though… why is it so perfect? Damn it, Jubilee, stop! Focus! But seriously, how is it fair that Kitty's the oing him when...'

  I rolled my eyes and casually got up, brushing dust off my pants. She didn't even notice. She was too busy drooling.

  I walked over, lettiew in her increasingly absurd fantasies until I was standing directly above her. "Hey," I said, voice ft.

  "Huh?" she blinked up at me, startled.

  I reached out and flicked her lightly on the forehead. "Focus, Jubilee. I feel your thoughts boung around in every dire except where they're supposed to be. And frankly, if yonna fantasize about me, at least wait until I'm not standing right here."

  Her face went from exhausted to horrified in a sed. "Wha—WHAT?!" she squeaked, scrambling to sit up, her cheeks bzing crimson. "I wasn't! I mean... I didn't...!"

  "Yeah, yeah," I cut her off, smirking. "Save it. You were staring at me like I was a dessert ptter at an all-you--eat buffet. Subtlety isn't your strong suit, Jubilee."

  She buried her fa her hands, groaning. "Oh my God, just kill me now. Please. Just... vaporize me."

  "Tempting," I said, croug down to her level. "But no. You're too valuable and good-looking. Besides, Kitty would kill me if I turned you into a pile of ash."

  That only made her groan louder. "Don't bring her up! This is humiliating enough already." She peeked at me through her fingers, her voice quieter now. "You didn't hear... all of it, did you?"

  I raised an eyebrow. "You mean the part where you were jealously imagining Kitty and me doing things together? Or the part where you were ogling my ass?"

  Her hands shot up in surrender, her voice a strangled squeak. "Okay, I get it! I'm a terrible person. Just... shut up about it, okay?"

  I leaned bay heels, enjoying the show as Jubilee tried and failed to keep her posure. Her cheeks were practically glowing now, a shade of red I hadn't even knoossible.

  I tilted my head, letting a slow grin spread ay face. "Rex, Jubes. I'm just messing with you... mostly." My voice dropped a notch, teasing but smooth enough to make her squirm. "But, for what it's worth, I'm fttered. I didn't know I had such a devoted admirer."

  She groaned, burying her fa her hands again. "Why are you like this? I just want to crawl under a rod die."

  I chuckled, reag out to gently nudge her shoulder. "Hey now, no hiding. You're too cute when you're embarrassed."

  Her hands dropped, and she blinked up at me, wide-eyed. "C-cute? Me? You're joking, right?"

  I shook my head, my grin softening into something more sincere. "Not joking. You've got this fire about you, Jubilee... this energy. It's not just in your powers; it's ihing you do. And yeah, it's... kinda irresistible."

  She blinked again, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. "I... uh... you..." she stammered, her voice crag. "Are you... flirting with me?"

  "Maybe," I said, leaning in just a little, enough to watch her face light up like one of her psmoids. "Or maybe I'm just being ho for once."

  Her expression shifted, a mix of fusion, nervousness, and... hope? "But... what about Kitty? And Jean? Aren't you, like, with them? You are with Jean, right?"

  I tilted my head, sidering my words carefully. "I am," I admitted. "But it's not as simple as you think. Kitty, Jean, and I... we've got an uanding. We all love each other, so we decided not to hold back. Everyone's on the same page, and no one's left out."

  Her jaw dropped. "You got a harem?! Are you serious? That's a thing you guys just... do?"

  I shrugged, a little sheepish. "It works for us. And, to be ho... I'd like to see if it could work with you too."

  Jubilee stared at me, utterly dumbfounded. "Me? But... why? I mean, you've got Kitty and Jean. They're amazing! And I'm just..."

  "You're Jubilee," I interrupted, my voice firm but warm. "You're strong, stubborn, and way more powerful than you give yourself credit for. You're funny, passionate, and yeah... you've got this way of making things brighter just by being around. Why wouldn't I want you in my life?"

  Her lips parted, but no sound came out. She looked at me like I'd just handed her the moon on a silver ptter, her emotions flickering across her face like a kaleidoscope.

  "I... I don't know what to say," she finally whispered.

  "Then don't say anything," I replied, leaning in closer. "Just think about it. No pressure. No rush. But I'm serious, Jubilee. I want you—every fiery, stubborn, amazing part of you."

  Her cheeks flushed again, and she let out a shaky ugh. "You're... something else, Aron. You know that?"

  "I've been told. And o hurry and decide. Take your time, maybe talk to Jean and Kitty," I said with a wink, standing and her a hand. "Now, how about we take a break before I embarrass you to death? Food a sound good?"

  "Ok. Alright." She hesitated, then reached up to take my hand, her grip surprisingly firm. "Yeah," she said softly, a small, almost shy smile curving her lips. "That sounds good."

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