KOTLC Fanfic ~ (Book Nine) Forbidden

X - Sophie

oh man I love this part but don't read if you're allergic to sokeefe (aka you ship ritzphie)

Sophie woke up in her bed, thinking about her conversation with her friends. She chuckled. "I guess we're calling him Fitzipoo from now on."

She popped out of bed, turning around in her spectral mirror - met by the coding in it. "Hey, Vertina." "Hi, Sophie."

She was mostly in good terms with the girl in the mirror, but she still got lots of fashion advice. At least she wasn't as rude.

"Any advice? This is kinda... a special day." "Ah, finally! She actually asks for it! First off, you need to brush your hair. And that tealish-silver dress over there with the white gloves would be perfect.

"And those flats work, since you're not good with heels. And I can totally work you through a few hairstyles, or makeup, or-"

"Yeah, that's good enough for now. Thanks." Sophie looked at the dress in front of her. It looked... overly fancy, but... today was important. Seemed right.

Or maybe she could go with that lighter, kind of icy blue one in the closet... that one wasn't quite as fancy, and there were less ruffles, but she liked it more.

"This one work?" "Looks... not as good as the other one, but okay." "It's more my style."

She slipped on the gloves and shoes, and did the smallest amount of makeup Vertina would let her get away with. She looked good.

"And then the left strand of hair goes over to the middle. Hold that middle one, and then you bring that over to the right. And your right one goes all the way over to the left, underneath the left one. Yeah, you got it. Looks great, for a change!"

"Hey! Anyways... do you think this seems... fancy, but not super fancy? Because that's what I was going for." "Yep, looks fine." Sophie smiled and skipped over to the leap master.

"Shores of Solace."

Sophie went around to the back, hoping she would be unnoticed by Lord Cassius. She didn't see him... but she saw Keefe. That was good! And she hadn't caught his eye yet.

"Surprise!" She stepped out from behind the pillar. "Foster? What are you-" then he seemed to look her over, and his eyes widened, particularly at her dress.

"...does it look bad?" "No! No, no, not at all, it looks... wow. It's- er, you're stunning." "Really?" Sophie smiled a bit and sat down next to him on the swinging bench. "Yeah. You really look amazing." He was still looking at her dress.

That's when she realized - it was the exact same shade as his eyes. When that thought came into her head, she couldn't help but look into them. For a long time.

That beautiful icy blue that looked just like the sky after a blizzard. A remanence of hope after a storm. She was pulled away when Keefe started talking again.

"So, um, why the dress? I know you're... not exactly fond of 'fancy'." "I guess I just... thought it would be nice. First full day of having you back - that's enough cause of a celebration for anyone."

Keefe's eyes seemed to flicker with hope. She didn't know why, or how she knew, but she just... did.

"So, um, about yesterday..." "...Yeah?" "First off, the Fitzipoo thing was awesome. I can't believe Elwin went along! And second... um... what exactly was Ro talking about...?"

Keefe went silent. "I... um... read my letter again. The last part." She took it out of her pocket. "Wait, you actually keep it with you?" "It's... kind of important to me." "Really?" "...Yeah."

Keefe smiled a bit. That made him feel like he mattered... to the one girl that mattered to him. "...love, Keefe... wait... love...? Like... like you... like me?"

Silence.

Keefe's only response was a meek nod.

"You... you like me. Like... like me like me?" "...yeah." "Wait, what? I- I can't believe... wow.." Very, extremely unexpectedly, and quickly, Sophie's lips touched his cheek.

Keefe turned the reddest, deepest red Sophie had ever gone- times 10. "What was..." "Just an apology for being an oblivious, annoying-" "You were never annoying. Ever." "I hope not." "You really weren't." "Well... that's good."

Her mind drifted off to Fitz. If he found out... That would... not be ideal.

Well... what he didn't know couldn't hurt him... right?

[ha- famous last words]

that's the last of the hUgE amounts of sokeefe but it'll still be scattered don't worry