Keeper of the Lost Cities- Deathgrip

Ruewen vs Foster

Sophie sat down ungracefully onto her chair in the dining room of Havenfield. Grady was to her left, stuffing his face with Elvin treats while Edaline buzzed around the kitchen, snapping her fingers and making mixing bowls appear. Sophie blew a strand of hair that had escaped her messy low ponytail out of her face and rubbed her sleepy eyes. She knew she hadn't been fair to Keefe or Fitz and had spent nearly all of last night brainstorming ideas of how to make it up to them. For the record, she still had a big. Fat. Zero. "Sophie, did you have a good sleep?" Edaline asked brightly while fidgeting with a spoon. All morning she had been twitching and jumping and acting quite weird, to be honest. But Sophie was too tired to really care.

"Um, no... not really," Sophie mumbled.

Beside her, Grady cleared his throat and put down his food, looking pointedly at Edaline. Okay, Sophie thought. Maybe I do care. Edaline started pulling on her bun, twisting it and poking it. "Mom?" Sophie asked, frowning a little. "What's up?"

Edaline managed a shy little smile and wrung her hands. "Well, your father and I have been thinking and you've been part of our family from the beginning. But we wanted to make it... official."

Sophie's frown deepened a little and she looked at Grady for confirmation. He just nodded a little and smiled at her. Edaline continued. "We wanted to know if you would be comfortable..." She trailed off and looked at Grady, who grabbed Sophie's hand.

"Sophie, we wanted to know if you would... change your last name to Ruewen. We think it's time you join the family. Officially. You're our daughter now."

Sophie's eye widened and her mouth might've fallen open a little. Foster was really the only thing she had left from her old family. They raised her! But... at the same time, this was her family now. She wasn't human. She truly always knew that. This was her life now. Her old family weren't even the Fosters anymore. They were the Freemans. She knew that she had to change her name. It was time. She looked up, realizing that Grady and Edaline were staring expectantly at her, waiting for an answer. So she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "What will Keefe call me?" Definitely not... h-her... name! *Gasp*

Edaline smiled, a relieved look taking place on her face. "How about... Sophie?"

"Yeah, I'll talk to him. But... yeah. I'll be Sophie Ruewen." She rolled the name around a few times in her head. It sounded right. Like that was always her name, as cheesy as that was.

Edaline clapped her hands giddily and threw her arms around Sophie. "I love you, Sophie."

Sophie smiled and wrapped her arms around her mom. "Love you too, mom."

Great. More bad news for Keefe. But Sophie was happy about this. If he really wanted to be her boyfriend, he would be too.

***

Sophie rested her head on a rock by the beach. She had told Keefe to meet her on the boulders behind Shores of Solace an hour earlier. Sophie closed her eyes and listened to the sound of waves crashing against the shore and breathed the fresh air of the lost cities. A few moments later, she could hear footsteps approaching but she didn't look up. "Foster?"

Sophie draped an arm over her eyes and smiled a little. "It's not Foster anymore."

Keefe hopped up onto the rock next to her and rested his head on his arms. Sophie shifted to rest her head on his lap, eyes still closed and they sat there for a moment before he spoke again. "You changed your name to Ruewen?"

"How did you know?" Sophie asked, opening her eyes to look at his bright blue ones.

He smiled a little. "I knew it was only a matter of time. This is your home, may as well show it, hm?"

Sophie kept her gaze trained on him. He looked exactly like a model, with his hair blowing lightly in the wind, his lips turned slightly upward and his pretty eyes focused only on her. Sophie Ruewen. It made her regret not putting a little more effort into her appearance today. Keefe seemed to know what she was thinking- or rather, feeling because he took her hand on his and leaned down to press a kiss on her cheek. "You're beautiful, Sophie Ruewen."

She blushed madly and for once, didn't try to stifle the fireworks shooting from where he was touching her. She didn't trust her voice to speak, so she just snuggled closer into him and they sat quietly, enjoying each other's company. But after a little while, when Sophie had reigned herself in, her question came back. "What are you gonna call me then?" She murmured into Keefe's stomach.

He laughed a little. "Foss Boss? Ruewen? Mysterious Miss F.? Mrs. Hunkyhair?"

"Keeeefe..."

"How about... Soph?"

"Because you couldn't handle Sophie, right?" Sophie said, rolling her eyes.

Keefe twirled a lock of hair around his finger. "What would be the fun in that? Names are meant to be nicked."

"What?" Sophie laughed.

"Like nicknames," Keefe explained.

Sophie smiled. "Okay. Keefe?"

"Yeah?"

She raised her arm to show off the cloth bracelet. "I think I'm ready to put a label on it."

He grinned and she swore she heard his heartbeat quicken a little. "Okay. Sophie Ruewen. Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Wait!" Ro's voice cut in. "This needs to be proper. This is a big deal."

Sophie closed her eyes, unable to wipe the smile from her face. "Okay. Go on."

Ro cleared her throat loudly. "Sophie Ruewen. Do you take Keefe Sencen to be your lawfully, um, united boyfriend?"

Sophie nodded. "I do."

Keefe grabbed her hands again and Ro turned to him. "Keefe Sencen, do you take this pretty blonde to be your lawfully united girlfriend?"

Keefe's expression went very serious and he pumped his eyebrows at her. "I do."

"Well then, um, argue now or forever hold your peace... till death do its part and cherish each other forever," Ro said, stumbling over the lines. But then she brightened and a wicked smile appeared on her face. "You may kiss the bride," She said to Keefe.

Ro ran away, squealing, leaving Sophie and Keefe alone. Keefe looked at her shyly, red tinting his cheeks. "Sophie? Can I?"

Sophie smiled at how sweet he was being and looked down, very interested in her hands. "Mmhm."

When she looked up, he leaned forward, tentatively and she wet her lips in anticipation. But before he got there, he whispered, "Tell me if I'm a better kisser than Dex." And then, his lips were on hers, in an earth-shattering kiss. Fireworks went off behind her closed eyelids and there was no awkward knee bumping or anything. 

It was the best sensation ever. She forgot about Fitz, the Neverseen, the enzyme and all her problems and just focused on Keefe. He threaded his fingers into her hair gently and pulled her closer. He tasted like sweets and silliness and all the good things about life and he tasted like... Keefe. Sophie leaned back, needing to catch her breath and she buried her face in his neck so he couldn't see her blush. Keefe sighed, a little breathlessly. "Judging by your emotions, I'm guessing I was a little better than the Dexenator?"

Sophie didn't answer, instead just wrapped her arms around his waist. Well. He took the name news better than she could ever have imagined. He really did want to be her boyfriend. It was time to announce it to the group. Including... Fitz.