A/N: A different alternate ending to Stellarlune 42, wherein Sophie and Keefe are interrupted, but not by Flori. Someone requested this ages ago, but I don't remember who!
Sophie's mind flooded with words.
Promises.
Confessions.
But somehow they felt like too much and not enough all at the same time.
So she tilted up on her toes and leaned forward, meeting his eyes as she lined up her lips with his--careful to leave a tiny wisp of space.
A chance for him to change his mind.
Keefe closed the distance between them.
And then...everything was new.
The soft press of his lips against hers.
The way their breath seemed to fall perfectly into sync while her heart and her brain screamed, FINALLY!
Some tiny part of her had always wondered if kissing could really be as great as everyone claimed.
But kissing Keefe was So. Much. Better.
He was the one to finally pull away, leaning back to study her in the shimmering light. "You're okay, right? No regrets?"
She grinned. "Absolutely none."
His relieved smile was the sweetest thing she'd ever seen--but it faded a little as he leaned his forehead against hers. "I don't want to mess this up," he whispered. "Please don't let me mess this up."
"I won't," she promised, tilting her chin up to steal another quick kiss.
But after only a few seconds, someone let out a soft gasp and an incredulous "what?!"
Sophie and Keefe broke apart and looked toward the source of the sound.
And Sophie's heart sank.
Fitz was standing there, looking back and forth between the two of them, his face looking shocked and crestfallen.
Sophie opened her mouth to speak, but found she couldn't think of anything to say. She looked at Keefe, who for once looked like he was also speechless.
"What's going on?" Fitz asked, his tone angry but his face still looking crushed.
Sophie opened her mouth to try again, but Keefe took a step forward, hands raised slightly.
"Im sorry you had to see that," Keefe said quietly. "But I...Sophie and I, we..." he glanced quickly at Sophie, uncertain.
Sophie realized with a jolt that Keefe was afraid to give any name to their relationship, afraid of saying the wrong thing.
Hadn't she made her position clear? She wanted to be with him.
"How long?" Fitz asked. "How long have you two been sneaking around behind my back?"
Of course Fitz would get angry. It was what he did when bad things happened. Keefe had been gone for weeks, obviously nothing had been going on during that time.
But Sophie knew if the roles were reversed, she'd have assumed the worst, too.
"We haven't been," Sophie assured him. "I just recently realized that I liked Keefe. I don't really know exactly when it started. And it turns out he feels the same way, and so...well, that's all we've really discussed so far. I'm so sorry you found out this way. I would have preferred to have been able to tell you."
Fitz frowned, shaking his head slowly. Then he looked at Keefe. "I should've known," he said at last. "I'm such an idiot. It was right there in front of me." He looked at Sophie. "All this time, I thought you liked me."
"I did," Sophie told him. "I just failed to realize that I liked Keefe, too. And you and I...it just didn't work. Every time we tried, we ended up fighting and it was painful."
"And it works with Keefe?" Fitz asked bitterly. "Just like that? I can't believe you guys kissed. When I tried to kiss you, we got interrupted, or you panicked, so I tried to take it slow for your sake."
"Fitz, listen," Keefe said, before Sophie could try to respond. "Why don't you and I leave and we can talk everything through?"
Fitz shook his head. "I came here for a reason. We need to go see Wylie," he told Sophie. "But we need to finish our Inquisition first. I just...don't know how I'm supposed to work with you now."
The pain on his face made Sophie's heart ache. "I didn't mean to break your trust, Fitz, I'm sorry."
"Are you sure?" Fitz asked earnestly. "It's not fair to any of us—especially Keefe—if you're just...I don't know, rebounding to Keefe because I hurt you."
It was Sophie's turn to shake her head. "No," she said truthfully. "No," she repeated, meeting Keefe's eyes. "That's not what this is."
Fitz turned away, tearing his hands through his hair.
Keefe used that opportunity to smile at Sophie, looking grateful and relieved.
Were you worried? She asked him.
Not really...but it's nice to hear, all the same.
"I think I need to sit down," Fitz mumbled at last, sinking to the ground.
I'm sorry it happened this way, Keefe added.
Me too.
"Fitz...maybe we should just finish our Inquisition? Talk things through that way."
Fitz looked up at her. "I was going to ask you about Keefe," he said quietly. "I just...felt like I should, but wasn't really sure why. Now I know."
Sophie didn't really know what to say to that. He wasn't wrong.
"It's my own fault," he mumbled, looking at the ground. "My stupid temper...getting so worked up about the Match...I'm the one that ended it." His head snapped up. "Does Keefe know that you found one of your parents? Did you tell him who it is?"
Keefe's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but there was nothing accusatory in his face.
"No, actually. I meant it when I told you no one can ever find out."
"And it doesn't matter," Keefe said quietly, looking at Sophie. "I don't care about any of that." He smiled reassuringly at her.
"Another mistake," Fitz whispered. "My fault, all my fault. If I hadn't freaked out on you, things would've turned out differently. I'm just going to have to come to terms with that, I guess."
Sophie hesitated. "I'm sorry."
I won't say this to him because I'm afraid it'll just hurt more, but you need to know, she transmitted to Keefe, that's not true. Even if he hadn't broken up with me, it was still going to be you. It's always been you, Keefe. I just...took a long time to see it.
I really want to kiss you again for that, Keefe replied, the expression on his face unfathomable. But I guess that'll have to wait.
Then he spoke aloud. "I understand if you're angry with me," he said to Fitz. "But I hope eventually you'll forgive me. I don't want to lose my best friend."
Fitz looked up at that, surprised, a different kind of hurt on his face. "How little you must think of me," he whispered, his eyes wide. "But I guess that's my fault too. Of course you won't lose me. I don't know how to move forward or how to handle being around you both right now, but...you're still my friends." He sighed. "But I can't pretend I don't feel betrayed."
"I should've been honest with you from the start," Keefe told him. "But it was hard to admit how I felt about her when I knew how she felt about you. It would've been really embarrassing, so I kept quiet."
Fitz pulled himself to his feet. "I can't talk about this now. Sophie, we need to finish our Inquisition and then go see Wylie. We're hoping that you and I can trigger hidden memories, because I couldn't do it alone." He tried to smile. "I need my Cognate."
Sophie knew they'd have to talk about it during their Inquisition, though the hardest part was probably already over. So she smiled at him. "Let's go inside then."
And the three of them turned to walk back toward the house. Fitz kept his eyes determinedly forward, not looking at either of them as they walked.
So Keefe placed his hand gently on the small of Sophie's back. Their minds were still connected, so she heard when he asked, you okay?
I'm fine. And also...I really, really like you.
That's good, Foster. Because I really, really like you too.