Fanning the Flames

Part 1

The cool, crisp air of the Lost Cities swept through the open glass domes of Everglen as the entire Keeper crew collapsed into a massive heap of plush cushions and velvet blankets in the secondary lounge.

Everyone in the group already knew that Sophie and Keefe were happily official, and they all knew that Tam and Biana were dating—much to Fitz's massive, ongoing displeasure. Being the protective big brother meant Fitz still spent half his energy giving Tam the traditional Vacker death-glare whenever the Shade got within three feet of Biana.

But for Dex, his entire focus was anchored exactly two inches to his left. Fitz was sitting right beside him under a massive goose-down comforter, entirely hidden from the rest of the room. Underneath the heavy fabric, Fitz's long fingers were tightly, unbreakably laced through Dex's.

"Alright, losers," Keefe announced, letting a glowing light orb drop into his hand with a wicked grin. "We're bored. The alchemy discussion is dead. It's time for a classic human sleepover game. Foster told me about it. It's called Truth or Dare."

Sophie groaned, throwing a pillow at Keefe's head. "Keefe, no. Truth or Dare with a bunch of elves who have actual magical abilities is a recipe for a catastrophic emergency.""Which is exactly why we're playing it," Tam muttered, a rare, sharp smirk crossing his face as his shadows flickered playfully near the edge of the fort. "I choose Dare first. Hit me, Keefe."

"I dare you to let Dex dye a single streak of your hair bright neon pink with one of his temporary chemical washes!" Keefe cackled.

Tam grumbled, but he didn't back down from a challenge. Dex reluctantly reached into his satchel, pulling out a small applicator brush and a glowing vial of pink solution. Moving closer, Dex carefully brushed the vibrant color onto a single silver-tipped streak of Tam's bangs.

Neither Tam nor Dex said a single word during the entire process. Both of their faces turned a deep, burning shade of crimson, completely silent and thoroughly embarrassed by the close proximity in front of everyone. Tam's eyes automatically darted over to Biana the second Dex finished, seeking comfort, and his cheeks dusted with an even brighter pink when she gave him an encouraging, bright smile. He reached over to hold her hand, and seeing the two of them touch instantly made Fitz's soft expression completely vanish.

"Tam," Fitz growled, his voice dropping into a deep, warnings-only register. "Move your hand. Exactly three inches to the left. Right now."

"Oh, back off, Fitzy," Biana scoffed, squeezing Tam's hand tighter just to annoy her brother. "He completed the dare."

Before Tam could snap back, Fitz felt a sudden, heavy pressure on his own hand. Dex pressed a steady squeeze under the blanket. Dex flicked his eyes up, finding Fitz staring down at him, the fierce glare aimed at Tam instantly melting away into a look of pure, unshielded devotion.

"You're quiet tonight, Disneyland," Fitz whispered, his voice dropping to that low, magnetic register that was meant entirely for Dex's ears alone.

"I'm just trying to make sure your sister doesn't drop any hints," Dex whispered back, his cheeks flaring a bright pink. "You know she's been dying to collect her blackmail material since yesterday."

On the other side of the circle, Marella leaned her head comfortably against Linh's shoulder, her fingers absently twirling a small ember of fire while Linh's water stream cooled it down into harmless steam. Sophie flushed happily, leaning closer into Keefe's side as she watched them.

Right on cue, Biana's eyes snapped over to the two boys from across the circle. Her signature, devastatingly knowing smirk crawled onto her face.

"My turn to pick someone," Biana purred, her voice ringing out clearly over Keefe and Tam's bickering. "Fitz. Truth or Dare?"

Fitz stiffened beside Dex, his pristine Vacker posture instantly locking into place. He cleared his throat, trying to play it cool. "Truth."

"Perfect," Biana beamed, her eyes dancing with absolute, triumphant amusement. "For your truth, I want you to tell the entire room exactly why you missed your eleven o'clock report to the Council three weeks ago. And remember, no telepathic shielding allowed. You have to tell the absolute, unedited truth."

Sophie blinked in confusion, shifting against Keefe. "Wait, I thought you guys said the alchemy burner had a pressure malfunction and you were holding a containment field?""Yeah, Fitzy," Keefe chimed in, leaning forward with a sudden, hyper-focused look, his Empath abilities picking up on the immediate wave of intense, skyrocketing panic radiating off both Fitz and Dex. "Your emotions just spiked so hard it felt like a flash-leak. What's the real story?"

Dex felt his heart do a violent flip against his ribs, his face instantly flushing an intense crimson. He looked at Fitz, whose jaw went completely rigid, a massive blush creeping rapidly up the telepath's neck. Under the blanket, Fitz's grip tightened, his thumb running a nervous, heavy circle over Dex's knuckles.

Fitz opened his mouth to try and speak, to salvage some sort of noble Vacker composure, but nothing came out. Both he and Dex sat there completely paralyzed, suffocating on their own embarrassment under the intense gaze of the entire room.

The room went dead silent. Keefe's jaw practically dropped as he tracked the purely dazed, guilty look on Fitz's face.

"Oh, look at them," Biana laughed out loud, leaning back against the cushions as her smirk widened into total victory. "They're too embarrassed to even speak. Fine, since you two idiots are frozen, I'll say it for you."

"Biana, don't—" Fitz choked out, his voice completely wrecked.

"The alchemy story was a total fake," Biana announced proudly to the group, pointing a finger directly at the two blushing boys. "I walked into Fitz's room after his imparter call, and a little while later, they were supposedly doing their module. Instead, they had a massive pillow fight, knocked each other over, and ended up tangled together on the rug with Dex completely straddling Fitz's waist."

"Oh my gods," Sophie squeaked, burying her face completely into her pillow as muffled squeals of delight escaped her.

"Wait, hold on!" Keefe shrieked, falling backward into a pile of cushions as a massive, wild grin broke across his face. "Straddling? Fitzy, you absolute legend! Lord Loss-of-Composure over here completely threw out the Vacker script! What happened next, Biana? Don't leave out the details!"

"Well, Fitz completely panicked about the time and started spiraling," Biana continued seamlessly, entirely ignoring her brother's furious, glowing-red face. "So Dex shut him up with a kiss. Then Fitz froze, Dex panicked, and Fitz shut him up with an even bigger kiss. They were having a full-blown, breathless make-out session on the floor, and when I burst through the doors, Fitz literally caught Dex in a dramatic ballroom dance dip to try and hide it."

"A ballroom dip!" Keefe cackled so hard his ribs hurt, pointing accusingly between the two boys. "You can't play the terrifying big-brother card right after that, Fitzy! The hypocrisy is soaring through the glass ceiling!"
"Tam," Fitz growled, completely desperate to shift the spotlight as his protective older-brother instincts flared back up through his intense blush. "Move your hand away from her right now. I'm still watching you."

"You literally just got exposed for making out on a rug with your little alchemist, Fitzy!" Keefe shouted. "You have zero tactical advantage here!"

"He's right, Fitz," Sophie laughed, finally pulling the pillow away from her face, her eyes shining with pure happiness for her friends. "You don't get to dictate Tam's seating arrangements anymore. Not when you look that happy."

Marella leaned over, nudging Linh with her shoulder as she looked at Dex's completely unraveled, silent face. "So, Dex... how is it? Is the golden boy actually a good kisser, or does he just look pretty?"

Dex wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole, his fingers squeezing Fitz's hand tightly. Fitz finally broke his silence, a sudden, familiar spark returning to his teal eyes as he leaned closer to Dex, his shoulder pinning firmly against Dex's side.

"He thinks I'm devastating, actually," Fitz murmured softly, turning his head to press a quick, sweet kiss right against Dex's burning cheek, completely ignoring Keefe's dramatic shrieks of amusement across the circle. "And I think I can live with losing a few arguments as long as Dex's telepath has his favorite technician."