You Fall, I Fall

twenty two

You may want to turn on "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol (I think) while listening to this chapter. Just saying.

-Sophie helped Fitz lay out the blanket on the grassy hill. She was a little nervous, especially because before she left to pick up Fitz, she felt a tug on her cognate rings. He had been thinking about her. She wondered if it was about their training or their trip to Moonglade or hopefully something else good. Probably something else good. She was gaining confidence in how Fitz viewed her, and she hoped that one day, it would grow to something more between them. For right now, she just felt comfortable.

When she was around Fitz, she felt like she really belonged in the world. Of course, she felt like she belonged in the Elvin world, it was her home, her true home, way more of a home than the Forbidden Cities had ever been, even with her human family, but as a teen trying to find her way in the world as a whole, not just cities and species, you don't really belong until you find yourself. Her cognate made her feel like she had found herself, or that she would, or that she was really only her full self with him. She wasn't really sure on that part. He saw everything in her, the good and the bad, and accepted it. That's really special. That's one of the reasons why she loved him- SNAP!

Breaking away from her thoughts, she saw that the blanket was lying on the ground, crumpled, and that her fingers were laced with Fitz's. Softly, she blushed, "Sorry."

"Thinking about our cognate training?" He asked, his crisp accent rippling with amusement.

"Yeah," she lied, "I mean, we just finished our testing to clear our schedules for more telepathy last week, and the pressure for our success is starting to rise..."

"We knew this would happen, but we can do it, I believe in us," his words gave her a sudden rush of love and joy.

"I do too," she promised, smiling up at him, hoping the love she was feeling wasn't too noticeable. She didn't want to ruin what they had going.

"Good, now let's get this blanket flat," he chuckled, and the whole world seemed to chuckle along with him.

It was just them in the area, no one else in sight. Fitz had originally suggested they go to Siren Rock, even though lots of people go there, but Sophie told him about Moonglade, remembering how she had caught Elementine there with Dex years ago. It was nice, the quiet, the privacy, so no one could whisper about them, or try to talk to them like they had when Sophie and Fitz had gone out to places like Atlantis or Mysterium.

Once the blanket was laid out neatly, they sat side by side. In the past, this would be when the awkward silence would fall, but in recent days, it's just been more of a peaceful quiet. She sighed happily, and looked at the stars, satisfied with their relationship. Craning her head back proved to be uncomfortable, so she just laid back, arms under her head. When she looked over at Fitz, she saw that he was looking at her, and she patted behind him, a gesture for him to lay down with her. Hesitantly, he did, and smiled at her a bit nervously. Something was on his mind.

She had thought that something about him was off. First off, Biana met her first, which was what normally happened, but Fitz was usually close behind with a pre-prepared eye roll and satirical comment about something his sister had just said. This time, Biana had clearly stalled for him, because she wouldn't have normally shown Sophie sketches that hadn't been properly lined and colored yet. Her cognate hadn't seemed as put together as he usually did, and she had felt a tug on her rings earlier... Did he doubt how much she loved and respected him? That would explain why he was so off set, why the famous, prideful Fitz Vacker seemed nervous. She didn't want to insult him if this wasn't true, but she knew that she use to often doubt how he saw her, so she didn't want to rule out the possibility.