after unlocked: a sokeefe fanfic

Epilogue

The other decor were framed drawings. One of Iggy sitting on Grimvale, Keefe's rapidly growing gremlin puppy. Another was of Calla's tree, a larger canvas painting. Others depicted little snapshots of her life, mostly landscapes and sometimes one of her friends.

The ones she cherished the most were in the center. One of her and Keefe—he had complained a lot about drawing himself—that she'd commissioned and paid for. He'd also complained about having her pay him, but she'd been eager to be his first customer at his newly set up shop in downtown Atlantis. The other was one of Grady and Edaline, smiling at a girl whose face was just slightly hazy. Anyone who glanced briefly at it would see Sophie.

If someone looked closer though, they'd see the blue eyes of a sister she never got to meet—not truly.

Sophie let out a long breath and popped her fingers absentmindedly before she collected her home crystal and slipped her boots back on.

She crossed the room to the door, opened it, then turned and strode back to the table against the wall, where a round mirror sat above it. She looked at herself in the mirror, her simple golden circlet glinting in the light. Sophie adjusted if, straightening the ruby red jewel so that it rested in the center of her forehead.

Then she strode out the door to the next room.

Halted.

A soft smile flickered over her face as she saw him leaning casually against her secretary's desk, hands shoved in his pockets. The glow of the sun cast a golden light to his profile as he stared out the window at the line of yellow fields and trees stretching out before them, expression unreadable. When her stomach tumbled, he turned to face her.

He still looked so sad, she thought as she crossed the room to him. He smiled, but there was a tinge of sorrow to it.

"Did you just get here?" Sophie asked, resting her hand on the table as she dropped a few other parchments she'd collected onto the table.

Keefe shrugged, straightening, and Sophie was forced to look up as he stepped closer to her. "I've been here for a bit."

"Keefe," Sophie admonished. "You should've got me."

His lips quirked in the corners as he smiled slightly. "Can't distract Councilor Fos-Boss in the middle of her work, now, can we?"

Sophie rolled her eyes as his arms looked around her waist pulling her closer. His lips hovered over hers for a split second before he closed the distance, and Sophie's eyes closed.

When he pulled away, she kept her eyes closed for a moment longer, but could feel his gaze drifting over her face. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up into the ice blue of his eyes. She studied every inch of his face, from the faint dusting of freckles across his nose to the strands of hair resting on his forehead. She smiled at him again, relieved when his smile looked less sad.

"Ready to go?" He asked softly, toying with her circlet.

"Yeah."

She tried to pull away, but Keefe didn't let her go. She stared up at him, an eyebrow arched, as his smile turned into a smirk. "One more kiss, first."

With that, he pulled her circlet off her head and kissed her again.

***

He was forced to come here, Keefe always said. The only good thing was the beach and the waves and the porch.

Besides, so long as they ignored each other, Keefe and Cassius were fine. Living peacefully, no interactions besides maybe, "pass the milk."

Well, not the milk, since elves didn't have milk, but Sophie got the point. 

He didn't look like he was forced to go there though, Sophie thought, watching as he sprawled out across the swinging chair. Keefe was nineteen, and newly graduated from Foxfire, just like Sophie. His dad couldn't very well force him to do anything.

But ever since Gisela's planting, Keefe had barely NOT slept at the Shores of Solace. And Sophie had seen Keefe and Cassius interact, when they thought she wasn't looking.

It was strange, but gratifying, watching Cassius try to be a good father. Watching Keefe's face light up as he realized, yes, this wasn't a ruse to get something from him. It was genuine, Cassius's attempts.

That didn't mean Sophie forgave him. Sure, maybe "losing" his only son had been too painful and he hadn't been able to leave his house for grief, but still.

He could've tried to go Keefe's planting at least.

But Keefe needed him. His dad. Somehow, who had never shown up, but was trying now.

So Sophie didn't say anything. She watched them try to strengthen whatever tentative bond they formed, and she felt her love swell for Keefe every time she watched him get excited and forget that it was his dad he was talking to.

Sophie stared out at the waves, their chair rocking beneath them.

Keefe's eyes were closed, and his breathing deepened. Sophie glanced down, studied his face as he slept, his hands clasped on top of each other on his chest. She shifted one of her legs out from under his head, trailing her fingers through his golden hair as she stretched out a bit.

A soft cough made her look up.

Cassius stood uncertainly at the edge of the deck, hair uncharacteristically... not perfect.

She met Cassius's eyes, so like Keefe's. Something unrecognizable flashed through them as he gazed at his son.

His throat tightened, constricted, as he swallowed.

Sophie looked back down to Keefe, his peaceful expression.

She looked back up at Cassius, his troubled expression.

Some people didn't deserve children, she thought.

But all children deserve parents.

She gave him the slightest nod, and it seemed as if a tension rushed out of his body. Sophie watched him step across the porch, to a chair near them.

They sat in silence, Keefe resting between them.

They sat in silence as the watched the sun slowly sink beneath the waves.