they can have my legacy - fedex (the legacies series 3)

4

dex stared at him. you're... wait, what?

fitz's mouth opened again, & he clamped his hand over it. he began pawing at his finger, trying to get the ring off, but tinker had designed it well: it was impossible to take off.

dex blinked. fitz... what the fuck?

stop asking me fucking questions! fitz hissed, before covering his mouth once more. words were spilling out, though, & dex could understand them well enough even with the muffling: i'm gay & disgusting & no one was ever, ever supposed to know--

with a jolt, dex grabbed fitz's hand & tugged off the ring. it yielded for him-- as he had suspected, tinker had designed it only to be removed by the one who put it on.

fitz was breathing fast, & his eyes were darting about, like he had just run a race & found an angry gorgodon racing towards him instead of a finish line. fuck.

fitz, i--

fitz interrupted him. his voice was dangerous, low & sharp as goblin throwing stars. it's not true. the ring is wrong, it's a lying-ring instead of a truth-ring, tinker lied, it's not true, i swear it's not true, it's not, & then he was gasping, & he was desperate, please, dex, you have to believe me, it's not true--

& then he gave up, & he said softly, dully, dex, you can never tell anyone. you can't tell them or i'll kill you with my own bare fucking hands.

dex couldn't drag his eyes away from fitz's face. there was something indisputably broken about it, so obvious he couldn't believe he'd never seen it before. the words were soft as they came out of his mouth: fitz, it's okay. it's not a crime to be gay, dude.

fitz gave a short, bitter laugh. right. of course you would say that.

what the hell? dex glared. what does that mean?

fitz shook his head. ugh. never mind.

dex stared at him. his first inclination was to be angry, but then he realized he was just confused. dude, wait, why are you dating sophie?

& then fitz couldn't look at him. i don't... it's...

& what about biana? fitz, you were horrible to her. she's your sister, & she's gay, & now you're saying you're gay... i don't get it.

yeah, you wouldn't! fitz snapped. look, dex, no one cares about you.

dex laughed, short & furious. what the actual fuck? i'm leaving.

he was about to shout tinker's name when fitz interrupted him. no! i didn't mean it like that. i mean, i'm a vacker. they watch what i do, all the time. they're not watching keefe. they didn't even care when he started dating tam. but if i ever made them think i would want to date a guy, they would lose their shit.

who's 'they'?

fitz threw his hands up in the air. everyone! every single elf in the entire lost cities is 'they', dex. they always have been, & they always will be.

o-okay! dex frowned. but you didn't answer any of my other questions. what about sophie?

why do you even care? it has nothing to do with you!

dex crossed his arms across his chest. around him, there were gadget-parts everywhere. usually, all he wanted to do was put them together. now, all he wanted were answers. am i allowed to want my best friend to be happy?

fitz snorted. dex, sophie doesn't consider you her best friend. pretty sure biana took that spot.

dex's face felt hot. what- that's-

fitz shook his head. no, don't say anything. i'm sorry. that was uncalled for. that was an asshole move. i don't know why i said that.

i do. it's cause you're an asshole.

fitz bit his lip, & his eyes fell on the floor. i mean, yeah. that's... that's true.

so why are you dating sophie if you're gay?

this time, the retort seemed to snap out of fitz's lips, automatic. why do you care?

& dex responded without thinking, too, because if he had thought he wouldn't have said what came out of his mouth next:

cause i have a crush on you, idiot.

& then he was running, running to the vortinator & tinker was coming out of wherever she had been & he was going down, down, & he was running to the leapmaster & tinker was calling after him, & he could just barely make out the words, framed as questions but woefully demanding:

dex? this time next week? you & fitz?

& then he was gone.

a/n: ugh i'm sorry i keep not updating for a while. time passes so fast that it feels like i just updated but then it turns out it's been a week & i haven't even started on the next chapter. anyway, stay safe, everyone. love you all, & have a great day xx