KOTLC Sokeefe One-Shots, Alternate Endings, etc

Flashback 17:part 1 (Keefe POV)

"Mostly."

Relief. "Good. Because you were out for a pretty long time, and some people were starting to worry—I mean, not me. I figured you were just playing it up for sympathy, but..." he paused, suddenly emotional, but refusing to let it get the better of him. Fitz was his best friend, and one of the very few people he ever allowed himself to be emotional with—really only the two people in the Healing Center with him ever saw him without his carefully placed emotional mask—but he just couldn't today.

For one thing, he didn't get emotional around Fitz very often. He usually had those kinds of talks with Foster.

But also, seeing Keefe get emotional over the situation would make it harder on Fitz to remain impassive, and Keefe didn't want to be responsible for a setback.

But he couldn't rely on his convenient, handy fallback of making jokes either.

So he cleared his throat and said, "ugh, this is really hard if I can't make fun of you."

Fitz laughed. "That almost makes it worth it."

See? Keefe told himself, still working on changing his inner monologue. Neither of them is holding this against you.

"Oh, I'll find a way," he promised Fitz with a smirk.

"I'm sure you will."

And then Fitz went back to tipping elixirs into Foster's mouth.

Keefe just didn't get it. Opening the vials for her made sense, but couldn't she use her left hand to take the elixirs?

But Elwin had been doing the same for her.

Probably worried she'd be clumsy and drop or spill it, since she wasn't left-handed and was exceptionally uncoordinated.

Still didn't mean Keefe wanted to have to watch them.

He tried to talk with Ro and distract everyone—including himself—with the curious situation between Bo and Ro, but it fell flat when he couldn't stop watching Sophie and Fitz, a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He loved them both.

And loved hanging out with them individually.

But sometimes hated being around both of them at the same time, because they got so wrapped up in each other.

So when Foster pulled a face that showed how incredibly sour the latest elixir was, he offered her another box of Prattles—but Fitz was already feeding her more candy.

Ugh.

Then Foster saw him noticing that her pins were missing—due to a strange chain-mail bandage now on her arm—and she showed him where the pins were. Fitz told him there had been a lot of ooze.

Keefe latched on to that—partly because he was desperate for a distraction and partly because he was genuinely fascinated. He rounded on Elwin.

"You did something oozy without me?"

Honestly, Keefe lets Foster have one day to wallow, and Elwin chooses then to do something super cool and gross?

Ro was upset by this too, and they both insisted on being there for the next day's Great Fitzphie Ooze Fest.

Foster did not like the name. "We're not calling it that."

"Oh, I think we are." He patted her head affectionately. "And don't worry, Foster. I'll still love you when you're oozy. Maybe I should get you a tunic that says Oozemaster."

He could feel her mortification at that and smirked as she begged, "please don't."

He moved the tray of medicine away and told her, "you can have Fitzy feed you the rest of these when I'm gone—otherwise I'm going to puke. Right now, we need to find Krakie a new home."

Stealing some gauze from one of the shelves, he wrapped some—not too tight—around her good arm  before attaching the pins to it.

Fitz tilted his head to look get a closer look. "Is that a K?"

"Best letter in the whole alphabet! But don't worry, Foster, this isn't like when Dizznee gave you those bracelets."

"What bracelets?" Fitz asked sharply.

Oops.

He'd just wanted to keep things light and casual, and make sure she didn't feel awkward about what he'd done.

But he'd just accidentally let slip something Foster—and Dex—wanted kept private.

And especially given the kindness Dex had extended to him lately, he really wished he could shove those words back in.

But they were already out there.

He looked sheepishly at Foster, not wanting to make things worse by saying anything else.

Foster explained that Dex had attempted to use some bracelets he happened to have on hand as a prototype for blocking her enhancing.

She wasn't a very good liar, and Fitz wasn't fooled.

And wasn't going to let it go. He immediately asked if they were cloth bracelets.

"It doesn't matter," Foster said quietly, with a ring of finality to her voice despite the subdued demeanor. "They...didn't work."

"In more ways than one," Keefe couldn't help but mumble under his breath.

But Fitz heard him and narrowed his eyes at Keefe. "How do you know so much about it?"

Keefe shrugged. "I'm the reigning president of the Foster Fan Club. It's my job to know these things. But don't worry, Fitzy, you're still the runner up."

Keefe realized he was putting himself in the line of fire--Fitz was clearly feeling some jealousy over the fact that something had occurred between Foster and Dex, a jealousy made worse by knowing Keefe knew all about it--but he was doing it on purpose.

Diverting the attention and the conversation away from Dex.

Though he figured Fitz would be bringing it up again the moment Keefe left the Healing Center.

He could feel Foster's sudden desire to smack him.

She was so cute when she got feisty.

"I thought you weren't supposed to be teasing Fitz," she said when she apparently realized she couldn't actually reach him to hit him.

"I'm not, but...he makes it so easy."

Fitz rolled his eyes at him, relaxing slightly. "Sometimes I can't remember why we're friends."

"Pretty sure everyone wonders that at some point," Ro chimed in.

So Keefe grinned at them all.

Mostly relieved he'd successfully moved the conversation away from Dex's special cuffs.

"It's because I make everything better."

But Fitz was clearly still feeling a little jealous.

"Like giving Sophie the pendant that helped the Neverseen find her?" he shot back at Keefe.