𝓂𝒾𝒹𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 (𝒶 𝓀𝑜𝓉𝓁𝒸 𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓉𝓈 𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀)

~Family Reunion...Well, At Least Some Of The Family (Kam)~

"What's wrong?" I ask him.

"It's just..." Keefe blinks, and I am startled to see tears running down his cheeks. "My whole life I've dreamed of having a nice family I could settle into. Like how Fitz settled in with Dex after his parents kicked him out. But I..." His ice-blue eyes meet mine, and I know what he is thinking.

"I know. My parents..." I pause, falling short of my arsenal of good words to phrase the truth. "Aren't ideal. I'm sorry." I turn away, feeling a sense of shame burying into my chest.

Keefe's eyes widen out of the corner of my eye just as Ro picks up her towel and moves further down the beach. He cups my face, pulling it towards him. "Hey, that's not what I meant. I'm so lucky to have you, and I couldn't ask for anything more. I just-"

"I could try."

Keefe's eyes widen again, and the look on his face is enough to stop my heart for a solid two seconds. The look of hope, of all the dreams he had stockpiled in his head from the moment he realized he never was going to find what he wanted, what he needed, in his own family of blood. "What?"

"I've been meaning to tell you this for a while, my parents have been trying to get in touch with me lately. Saying they've changed. I don't believe them, but if it means so much to you..."

Keefe smiles sadly. "Bangs Boy, you don't have to do that."

I know I don't have to. But the look of hope Keefe gave me planted a seed of determination inside my head. I am going to try, and nobody can change my mind.

***

"Bangs, I told you that you didn't have to do this."

Keefe pesters me with complaints as we walk hand in hand up to my parents' house, but he didn't refuse to follow me.

"I told you before, I want to. And hey, if things go wrong, the door will be right next to us, okay?" I turn around to look Keefe in the eyes. He smiles gratefully and pulls me into a warm hug.

"Thank you," he whispers with a fierce kind of passion. "I love you."

I allow myself to melt into his embrace. "Love you too, Keefe." Too soon I pull away, kissing his cheek and squeezing his hand. "Ready?"

"Ready." We reach the door and Keefe looks at me with concern. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

I elbow him in the side. "We're literally at the door. What do you think?"

Keefe shrugs. "Just making sure. Alright, you reunite with your family and tell me to come in when you're ready for me."

"Alright, see you soon." I kiss his cheek once more and knock on the door, waving fondly to him as he scampers to the safety of a potted plant.

The faint sound of footsteps down stairs, familiar voices. I told them I would be coming sometime today. I didn't mention Keefe. That wasn't my cleverest move. (Or maybe it was. The only thing I could do now was find out and see.)

I look around. The porch is covered with potted plants and overgrown vines blossoming Mom's favorite flowers that I remembered her sprinkling on teacakes because she thought they looked pretty that way. The porch has a strange mix of familiar and foreign qualities smashed together like the edges of two worlds colliding into one. Something about the porch makes my eyes well with tears, which I wipe away almost as quickly as they come.

My heart stops as I hear the unlocking of the door.

A familiar woman steps out of the house with soft, delicate features and smooth black hair. Her silvery blue eyes widen.