KOTLC Sokeefe One-Shots, Alternate Endings, etc

Legacy 18: part 2 (Keefe POV)

"The thing is," Foster admitted quietly, "that's not why I said 'no' to what Mr. Forkle was asking. I'm used to pain. I don't like it—but it's not like it's a deal-breaker or anything."

Wow, this girl was brave. Keefe tried not to think about how this made him fall even harder for her.

"And I'm not that worried about surviving, since I'm pretty sure Mr. Forkle, Elwin, and Livvy would find a way to get me through. I even know how valuable the abilities might be. I just... I'm sick of everyone telling me to trust them when they clearly don't trust me. And I'm really tired of no one caring about what I want when it comes to... pretty much anything. I mean, would it be so hard for someone to say, 'Hey, Sophie, we get how rough this is for you and we want to do something to make your life a little easier'? Is that such an unreasonable dream? Especially since all I've been asking for is a tiny bit of personal information?"

"That one hundred percent makes sense," Keefe promised, and felt as his words eased some of her tension. "Which is why I have to ask why I feel so much guilt coming from you when you say it. And yeah, it's definitely guilt—don't try to deny it. The same stuff that can shatter your sanity if you let it get out of control, so... we kinda need to figure out how to stop you from feeling so much of that, okay?"

No one but Foster could heal shattered minds, so if she gave in to guilt...there was no way to get her back. The thought gave Keefe goosebumps. He had to make sure she never let guilt overtake her.

She shifted in the porch swing, curling her knees into her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "I guess it's because I'm being selfish. And I'm supposed to be better than that."

Oh, please. She was the least selfish person he'd ever met.

"Because you're the moonlark?" Keefe asked. Because you somehow think that being the moonlark makes you less important than everyone else?

She nodded. "The entire reason I exist is so I can use my abilities to stop the Neverseen. I didn't have parents who loved me and wanted to have a child to add to their family—"

"Neither did I," Keefe pointed out. "I'm here for my 'legacy.' "

And he couldn't quite fight off that feeling that she also existed, somehow, for him.

He would be for her, too, if only she'd let him.

"I know," she replied, and he could feel how much she hated that for him. "But... at least for you, doing the right thing means ignoring all of their plans. It's the opposite for me. I was created to do a job. A pretty important one, from what I can tell. And here I am, refusing to do it simply because I'm trying to find a way to make my life a little more normal. And that's just... really selfish and silly of me. It's like an Imparter saying, 'Hey, I'm sick of you telling me who to hail all the time—I'm not going to do it anymore until you tell me why you made me a square!' "

"Uh, but you're not an Imparter, Foster—though I appreciate the little voice you just did there to really sell the character," Keefe teased. "But in all seriousness... I see what you're trying to say. The thing is, though, the Black Swan didn't make a gadget. They made a person."

An incredible person. One who was way more precious than a gadget. How did she not see that?

"So they're going to have to deal with the fact that you have a mind of your own—and a pretty darn smart one too. It's okay to trust yourself sometimes. If something feels wrong to you, it probably is wrong. And if it feels like someone's taking advantage of you, they probably are."

"I guess." She sighed, hugging her knees tighter. He could tell she didn't quite believe him. Didn't she see how special she was? "But... I keep thinking about how I'm going to feel if someone gets hurt the next time we run into the Neverseen, and I'll have to wonder if I could've stopped it if I hadn't been so stubborn and agreed to fix my inflicting."