Listen to the audio while you read. It's good mood music hehe. But, for the record, it's more about the music, not the lyrics. Enjoy!
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"I. Hate. Everything."
The moment Keefe heard the words, he knew he'd arrived just in time for a Sophie Foster Rage Fest.
But that just made it more necessary to walk through that door and see her perfect face.
No. Sophie Foster was perfectly imperfect. And that was why she was so amazing.
As he walked in, glancing around for flying objects before going too far, he saw Sophie's wide brown eyes — full of a deep, deep pain — lock on his. He absolutely lost it on the inside when she did that. "Oh! Keefe... hi."
She sighed and flopped back on her bed. "So, how much of that did you hear?"
"Oh, not much," Keefe said, attempting his safety smirk that shielded his real emotions from the world. "Just things about hating liiiife and stuff like that. You're perfectly fine!"
Sophie rolled her eyes and buried her face in Ella. Oops. Maybe not the time for trying to lighten the mood. Stupid...
Keefe sighed, and walked over to sit next to her on the bed, putting a hand on her shoulder he hoped would be comforting. Or reassuring. Or something.
"Foster, what's up?" he asked gently. When she didn't respond, but buried her face deeper between her stuffed animal's ears (that always enhanced her own cuteness, whether she knew it or not), Keefe decided to test his boundaries and hug her close. Maybe he could give her some sort of warmth that would make her feel happier.
He stopped breathing for a second as she buried her face into his chest instead of into the blue elephant. He'd never admit it to any outside force, especially Sophie, but she was probably comforting him more than he was comforting her in that moment.
But the moment ended too soon. She pulled away. Only a little bit — just enough to look into his face — but just enough to break the illusion he fell into again and again: that maybe something had changed between them. Maybe she'd decided to really be done with Fitz because...they were meant to be. But no, he couldn't think like that. Fitz was his best friend. He couldn't let his own feelings convince him that Fitz and Sophie weren't soulmates. That would be selfish.
"Keefe, I... It's never felt this bad before. Never. They've never been this bad before."
She sounded so... fragile. That wasn't the Sophie Foster Keefe knew. He'd have to do something about that.
"You mean the Neverseen? Foster... Look, please don't blame yourself for their jerkiness. You're doing all you can to fix this, but... it's not fair to take all this on your shoulders by yourself. Let us help you. Let me help you. It's okay to need it."
What he'd wanted to say was it's okay to need me, but now really wasn't the time. She was still crying, and she looked more broken than Alden had a year ago.
When she didn't respond, but instead whimpered and tucked her head back against his shoulder where tears soaked straight through his shirt, Keefe sighed and gently took both her hands in his, whispering softly, "Would you mind turning on your enhancing for me, Foster?"
Without a word, she nodded, then closed her eyes in concentration. A second later, he felt the rush of warmth spread straight up his arms, filling his whole being with a sense of empowerment.
Shaking off the initial shock, Keefe took a deep breath and sent a breeze of peace into the one girl who really deserved to feel it, but never let herself without him. And, when he saw the tears slow and a sweet little smile creep across her face, it felt like he'd accomplished something... incredible.
"Better?" he asked after an uncountable moment with a lopsided smirk, trying to hide the remaining worry he felt for her. She didn't need to see that right now. Right now, she needed to focus on herself for once in her life.
"Much better. Thank you, Keefe," she breathed. Her mouth was right by his ear thanks to her head's position on his shoulder, and her breath so close gave him chills.
"So," he said, shaking off the warm fuzzy feeling growing in his chest, "what set off the massive Foster Rage Fest? Because I have never, ever seen a thing on your floor unless it's supposed to be there. Is Fitz rubbing off on you?"
"I uhhh... got a bit carried away, I guess," she mumbled, her head still tucked in the crook of his neck. She somehow fit perfectly.
Sophie sighed and leaned more heavily on him, as if he were the only thing keeping her up. He felt her lips brush across the bare skin on his neck for a split second as she adjusted herself, so he almost didn't hear her when she said, "You happened to show up a few minutes after I got some news from Mr. Forkle. Oh, I'm so sorry," she stammered, as if just remembering herself. "Did you need something? Ugh, I'm terrible. I just dumped all my problems on you, and didn't even ask why you came. Is everything okay?"
"Let's say I think we got the same news," Keefe told her simply, not feeling like elaborating at the moment. At least, not orally.
But his face seemed to communicate enough.
"Oh Keefe... I'm so sorry. I didn't think he would tell you right away. I thought he'd wait a little while, and ask me to tell you when I felt the time was right. But I didn't know how to tell you. I... Keefe, I'm so sorry about your dad."
"What happened to Lord Cassius?" Grady asked from the doorway, making Sophie jump, and Keefe jump inwardly. But he composed himself quickly.
"Dad, we were trying to have a private conversation," Sophie stated pointedly, a look on her face like she was willing to jump up and push him out herself. Interestingly enough, she hadn't actually moved from his shoulder like she usually would just yet. That gave Keefe a nice boost of confidence to speak, but Sandor beat him to it.
"Miss Foster, I think your father should know what's going on," the burly grey goblin pointed out in his cute little stern bunny voice.
"Hey Gigantor, why don't you just step out for a sec and fill him in yourself? Don't worry," he said with a wink, "I'll keep our girl safe until you get back."
He looked like he was about to object, but Keefe glanced over just in time to see Sophie send Grady a pleading look that visibly melted his resolve. "It's alright, Sandor. Come on, fill me in out in the hall. These two probably have their own things to talk about."
With a squeaky sigh, Sandor obeyed, walking slowly out the door.
As soon as it closed, Keefe turned his head to look into Sophie's eyes, which awaited him with uncertainty in them.
He saw she was about to say something, so he decided to intervene. "Foster, I can tell you're about to say something all sappy and supportive, but... I knew this was going to happen. I knew my dad would turn out to be a double agent for the Neverseen. It's okay. Really," he added on when she gave him another uncertain look.
Sophie rubbed her temple for a moment with two fingers, and a second before Keefe put two and two together, she inhaled sharply and said suddenly, "Keefe, take a breath."
"Huh?" he asked, genuinely confused. Her emotions weren't helping. They were so mixed up, he couldn't tell if she was feeling pity or concern or... what was that other one? He couldn't place it.
"Just take a slow breath in," she instructed, sitting up straight beside him. He missed her warmth already.
"Okay," he mumbled, still confused. But, as I started to draw the breath in, she stopped him.
"Close your eyes while you do it. Try to relax. Okay?"
This time, Keefe just nodded, and took in a slow, calm breath, letting his shoulders relax at his sides. But, before he was even beginning to think about the exhale, he felt hands grip his, and a pair of soft lips touch his in a delicate whisper of a kiss. He was almost afraid it hadn't happened. It was too beautiful to be real.
After a moment of stunned silence, he felt the hands let go, and his eyes popped open as he finally let himself exhale. Keefe couldn't help but stare at Sophie, who was blushing furiously, and trying to hide behind pieces of her oh-so-soft blonde hair that'd brushed against him when she... she...
"You kissed me," he said lamely, too dazzled to say much more.
"Yup," she replied, equally flat, save a hint of embarrassment and uncertainty.
"Why?"
This question seemed to strike her. It took her a few seconds to respond. But, when she did, the wait was instantly worth it. "Because... it's you."
If he hadn't been an Empath, he might've felt the need to ask her to elaborate. But her emotions were so pure as she said those three simple words that he didn't need to.
She... loved him. And she knew it.
Without another word, just a quick question with his eyes which she nodded to, he leaned in and let out all the feelings he'd been keeping bottled up for so long, saving them just for her, in something he'd never let himself give her before: a kiss. And what a kiss. There was no mild way to put it: it felt like they were flying.
When they finally broke apart, they found they were tangled in each other. One of his hands tangled in her hair, the other behind her back to keep her close. Her hands running along his chest, which she'd managed to find herself on top of (they'd decided somewhere in there that laying on the bed instead of sitting for be infinitely better suited to them). Finding themselves in this pose Keefe guessed neither of them had guessed they'd end up in, they couldn't help it: they burst into hysterical laughter, clutching each other harder as they did.
And, from that moment on, nothing was ever the same between them again.
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I'm sorry if this was cringy lol. And shallow. But it felt SO right!
I hope you enjoyed, because writing this has made me feel more relaxed and satisfied than anything has in a while.
Don't worry, I'll be updating again veeery soon ;)