WARNING: The following contains spoilers for X-Force #16 by Benjamin Percy, Joshua Cassara, Guru-eFX & VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
Due to the sheer size of the X-Men, it's not surprising when romance blossoms between members of the team, especially among the younger generation of mutant heroes. One secret romance was just brought to light, and it's not just worth noting because of its potential, but for who supports it.
In X-Force #16, Quinten Quire and Phoebe Cuckoo just made their relationship official and out in the open, with the romance already picking up two major fans in Wolverine and Forge.
Quinten's first interest in the Cuckoos actually was pointed at Phoebe's sister, Sophie. When Quire was first a student at the Xavier Institute, he harbored an open attraction to her that the Cuckoo did not reciprocate. This made the fallout of the Quire-led revolt at Xavier's all the more tragic, as Sophie was killed containing the chaos. Since then, Quire has slowly grown into a more dependable and noble figure, who while still driven by ego has fought alongside the heroes of the universe. Phoebe meanwhile has been a consistent hero and leader of her sisters during the dark era that followed the events of House of M and Decimation.
On Krakoa, while the Cuckoos have largely been romantically tied with Cable -- especially Esme -- it turns out that Phoebe and Quire have been getting closer recently. In previous issues of X-Force, it was revealed that Quire and Phoebe have been hanging out together in secret. Phoebe told Quire that she wanted to keep their relationship a secret so that it would remain just theirs instead of having it to share it with her sisters like everything else in her life. Phoebe catches Quire before he sets off on his assigned mission and gives him a kiss for luck.
Notably, both Wolverine and Forge -- Quire's teammates on X-Force who are accompanying him on this mission -- seem happy for Quire. Both of them lightly tease the younger mutant, but Wolverine in particular is all smiles. Given their history together and the surprising bond they formed during the time Wolverine was the head of the Jean Grey School in Wolverine & the X-Men, it's a nice moment for the two to share. It also confirms that Quire and Phoebe are more than just a flirtation and a fully-fledged romance. It's an interesting way to see Phoebe take a step of individuality away from her sisters, and a sweet moment for the two.
There's also the potential that they remain together -- setting up two of Krakoa's most powerful telepaths to be in the first generation of new mutant parents that Nightcrawler is hoping emerges from this era of mutantkind. There's also the potential complication of Quire's two ex-love interests, Idie and Gwenpool, both of whom also live on Krakoa. Hopefully, their relationship gets the chance to further blossom, especially if Quire can continue to do so as he does in X-Force #16 and actually survive the chaos he encounters as a part of X-Force.