Sokeefe AU

Part Six

The sound of his knocking seemed to rattle through him, shaking his whole body and knocking loose emotions he didn't even know he had. Panic and fear and shame and embarrassment and sorrow and more ripped through him, and his head suddenly hurt from it all.

His hands were trembling, Keefe realized, and he shivered and tucked them to his sides again, squeezing his eyes shut. He forced himself to take deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart.

He still couldn't quite believe himself. How stupid he had been, to sit in the woods and talk when he had work to do, to ignore his responsibilities at the bidding of a gnome that he hadn't even known.

He thought of the various punishments that might slide across his desk if word got back to his father. No dinner, maybe. Locked in his room, definitely. A slap on the face, most likely.

Keefe wasn't exactly sure how long he stood there, waiting for someone to answer the door. It couldn't have been more than ten seconds, but it felt like an eternity had made its way into that moment and nestled in, settling down like it belonged there.

His feet hurt from standing, and sweat trickled down his neck. His flinch was strong and good when the door handle jerked, and he watched as the door itself was pulled wide open.

And then he was being hugged.

Keefe struggled to keep himself from toppling over, barely registering what was happening until it was done, and Edaline had stepped back and was simply looking at him, her hands still lingering on his tense shoulders.

Keefe stared back, startled, his hair a larger mess than usual, and was surprised to find Edaline with so much care and worry in her eyes.

"Oh, thank the stars," she whispered, looking like she wanted to hug Keefe again. "Thank each of them, and kiss them on top."

Which was a weird thing to say.

Confusion wove it's way into Keefe like a worm making its home in an apple. "What?"

"We thought you had faded away," Edaline explained, a single tear gathering on her eye.

Keefe took a step back, startled. "What?"

Edaline shook her head, hard, as if she were trying to clear away a bad dream. "When you were late, we called your father. He said you had already left." A new tear took the old one's place. "But you weren't here."

She didn't have to continue. Keefe could see why they had jumped to that conclusion. His father had watched him leap away, and to Grady and Edaline, it had appeared like he had not arrived.

"You scared us, boy," another voice said, and Keefe knew it was Grady, but he had to remind himself all the same.

He held his breath as he forced his eyes to meet his boss's. His hands formed fists when he saw the glare Grady was throwing at him, so he definitely wasn't expecting it when Grady reached out and hugged him too.

Keefe's body went tense, his back rigid, his bones and skin becoming steel. He didn't know if he should hug back or if that would be too weird, and his heart pounded so hard he was sure everyone on earth could hear it.

"Come inside," Grady finally said when he stepped back.

Keefe wasn't about to argue. So he let Edaline lead him to the kitchen, let her conjure up a plate of food, let her insist he sit down and eat something.

He wanted to refuse. He had wasted enough time already, and he needed to get to work. But Edaline was persistent, and Keefe hadn't had any breakfast . . .

So yes, he did help himself to some food. And yes, he did feel horrible doing it.

"Okay," Grady said, sitting in the chair across from Keefe and staring him down. "You want to tell us what happened?"