Fates | Klance AU

Chapter Thirty Five: Catch Me

"Catch me!" Alex jumped off the swing, crashing into Keith. The two fell onto the ground. "Great catch," she snickered.

He just laughed in response, "Maybe you should have given me a better warning."

"Maybe you should just be more prepared." She sat up on his stomach and pulled her short, dark hair back into a ponytail. "Honestly, I thought you were a pro spy."

Keith rolled his eyes, laughing. "That's not a thing. You're either a spy or a person who is spying."

"Mm, so you say." She leaned back, propping her elbows on his stomach. "Can you show me some of your drawings?"

He smirked at her, "Yeah. If you get off of me."

"Alright." She stood up and offered her hand to him. "Show me your skills, Leonardo DiCaprio." Keith raised an eyebrow. She stared back at him before realizing what she said. "I-I mean DaVinci!"

He took Alex's hand and stood up. "Let's go, genius."

*^*^*

"Keith!" The boy turned at the sound of his name. "Catch me!" Alex flew down the stairs. She crashed into Keith's back and held on.

After going through this too many times to count, he had gotten used to it. He smiled, "Happy birthday, nugget."

"Gold nugget or chicken nugget?" She laughed and climbed a little higher so she could lean her head over his shoulder. "Both are dead, but one is shiny and one is delicious. Or one is precious and the other keeps you alive."

Keith shrugged, "I don't know. You're just a nugget."

"Wow."

"An eleven-year-old nugget."

"And what are you?"

"A french fry."

"...You're Korean, Keith."

"Shh."

*^*^*

"Surprise flying ninja birthday hug!"  Alex jumped off the table. Keith reached his arms out as she landed on him. "Nice catch."

He shifted Alex so she was resting comfortably on his back. "Thank you... but where's Mom?"

"With the, uh, thing." She jumped off his back and grabbed his hand. "This way!"  Alex stopped in front of the door to the living room. "Close your eyes."

He did as told. He heard the door open and was lead inside. Alex's hand left his. "Open your eyes."

The young girl was smiling, her eyes sparkling as she held up a hippo plushie. A red ribbon was tied into a bow around its neck. Lilly, his foster mother, was sitting on the couch putting whipped cream on several waffles. She turned at the sound of Alex's voice. "Happy birthday, Keith," she smiled.

"Isn't he cute?" Alex smushed the plushie into Keith's face before he could respond. "I know you like hippos so we just had to buy him for you."

"Yeah," he smiled. "Thank you."

She laughed, "No need to thank me, silly. It's your birthday." She jumped onto his back to gain some height and ruffled his still unbrushed hair. Alex jumped off his back again and pulled him to the couch. "C'mon! We've got more stuff for you."

*^*^*

The sun had set long ago, and Keith was still crying into Lilly's shoulder. "It's okay, we won't let anyone hurt you," she whispered to him. "You're safe with us." Lilly pet his hair as she consoled him.

The nightmares had become more frequent and he was terrified. "They're gone now. You're safe."

After a while, he stopped crying and went back to his room. But in his room, he was alone. And darkness is hard to fight when you're fending for yourself.

He stared at the ceiling as time went by. A car drove by outside, the wind blew, a fire engine passed, but still he did not sleep.

Keith felt alone during the night, and he didn't want to cry, but he did. He turned over and pressed his face into the pillow, muffling his quiet crying somewhat.

A few more minutes went by, and the door opened. "Keith?" A small hand was placed on his shoulder. He sat up and leaned against the wall, looking out the window with his messy hair in his face. "Are... Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah... I'm- I'm fine."

Alex sat down across from him and watched him. She whispered, "I- I can catch you, you know." She pulled him into a hug, "You're not by yourself. I can catch you."

He leaned over her shoulder, barely shaking. "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for. I'm your awesome little sister so it's okay for me to protect you. If I wasn't awesome, that'd be a problem if I wasn't, but fortunately, I am super cool." She smiled and patted the top of his head.

Keith couldn't help but laugh, "Yeah, you are pretty cool."

"I know. So don't worry, okay?"

*^*^*

"Mom!" Alexandrina screamed. The nurses in the hallway turned to look at her as Keith held her back.

"Hey! It's gonna be alright, okay?" He spoke quietly, but he was shaking as well. "You just need to calm down."

She tried to pry his hands off her. "Calm down?! That damn moron might have just murdered our mom!" She pointed to the room where the nurses were attending the drunk driver.

"Alex!" He glared at her, "I know this is horrible, but try to calm down a little bit!"

She turned her head to look at him. Tears were running down her cheeks, but she couldn't have looked more angry. "Well, the world is a terrible place. It's not like people watch out for me cause I'm young or don't curse near me on the street all the time! That quiznaking moron might have just destroyed our lives, but am I allowed to go and kick him in the crotch? No. I have to wait for a trial or something for him to get what he deserves." Alex stopped struggling against him and stared at the wall in front of her. "Is... Is Mom going to be okay?"

Keith let go of her. "I hope so. She will be. She always gets better. She'll be okay."

Alex turned back toward him, "C-Catch me." She fell forward as he pulled her into a tight hug, and she sobbed into his shirt.

"She'll be okay," Keith repeated.

Hi uh... I'm good at writing angst? maybe / yeah I struggled with the last memory