Twirling-SoKeefe

Does she know?

Keefe shoved his hands in his pockets to keep them from shaking as he trudged outside, shivering slightly when the cold air brushed against his face. It was mostly dark, with scraps of pink and yellow and light blue streaking through the sunset, and the moon was already high in the sky. The silvery light shone on the grass, catching on tiny drops of dew and making them sparkle. He could barely make out the shadows of two adorably tangled baby alicorns ahead, wrestling at the feet of a tall, sturdy figure.

The second sight sent a nervous chill along his spine.

It wasn't like he hadn't known this was coming.

But it was still terrifying.

And he definitely didn't feel ready to have this conversation when his fingers were still tingling from the warmth of Sophie's skin and his head was all light and dizzy from her sweet smell and soft voice and-

Another cold rush of air breezed past Keefe's face, and he dug his hands deeper into his pockets.

Focus.

Right.

Don't disappoint the scary father.

Again.

He could do this.

Keefe let the tiny thread of confidence wind itself around each of his thoughts, tying a snug knot when he finished to keep it in place.

He held tight to that knot as he reached the shadowed figures, laughing when Wynn and Luna barreled into his legs with such force that he nearly toppled to the ground. Regaining his balance, Keefe reached down, scratching their velvety ears.

KEEFE! KEEFE! KEEFE!

KEEFE! KEEFE! KEEFE!

Keefe winced. As adorable as it was, the tiny alicorns' transmissions were loud.

"Hi," he said, tapping each gently on the nose. "I hear you two have been taking after me and causing some trouble at the party, hmm?"

TROUBLE! TROUBLE! TROUBLE!

Keefe rubbed his temples. He almost couldn't understand how Sophie could endure entire conversations with these winged menaces-but as Wynn and Luna gazed up at him, warm brown eyes bright with excitement and sparkling with the reflection of the stars, he couldn't help but smile.

TROUBLE! KEEFE! TROUBLE!

"You do seem to have that influence on people," a deep voice said from behind him. Keefe straightened.

Grady stepped up next to him, handing him a sparkling silver harness and showing him how to wrap it around Luna's soft body. "Dex made these about a week ago, when we told him about their adventures in the gorgodon's pasture," he explained, carefully securing a glittery clasp on Wynn's chest. "He and Edaline worked to add some special Technopath stuff that temporarily disables their teleporting by putting extra weight on their threads to the void-I know, I don't entirely understand it either," he added, seeing Keefe's confused expression. "But I do know that it works. We've tested these in preparation for tonight, but since they can only weigh down the connections for a couple hours, we wanted to wait and see if they could handle themselves first." He sighed. "Apparently not."

Keefe smiled, copying Grady's movements with the silver harness. It wasn't too difficult to understand-the problem was Luna's gangly, fidgeting alicorn limbs that refused to cooperate. But, with several mane strokes and ear massages, he finally snapped the last clasp into place. Luna curled up in his lap, nuzzling her nose against his stomach, and Keefe dragged his fingers across her shimmery fur.

Grady sighed again, longer and heavier, before sitting down in the grass across from him. Keefe stiffened, his hands freezing on the alicorn's mane.

"Okay," Grady said quietly, watching Wynn stretch across his knees and push his nose against the aqua blue embroidery of his tunic. "I'm not going to pretend like I didn't see this coming-or that I entirely approve."

Keefe's shoulders slumped, and he stared down at the ground, feeling the thread he'd tied loosen.

"But... " Grady shifted in the grass, lifting an hand to scratch Wynn's ears. "I can't deny how happy Sophie is when she's around you."

Keefe's head snapped up so fast that for a second, he worried about whiplash. "What?"

That was so not what he'd expected to hear.

Grady smiled. "Trust me, that's what I think every time this comes up. And... as much as I want to drag the two of you apart and lock Sophie in her room until she's at least a hundred years old... I know I have to let her make her own decisions-and trust that she uses that smart brain of hers to make the right ones."

Somewhere in the pastures, Silveny whinnied, and Wynn and Luna scrambled up to find their mother.

Grady brushed off his pants. "So... this is my attempt at letting my teenage daughter figure out her life on her own. Even if it's with the mastermind behind the Great Gulon Incident."

Keefe cracked a smile, and he couldn't keep himself from saying, "I had nothing to do with that."

Grady raised a brow. "I'm sure."

But the moment of levity faded, and Keefe clung tight to his knot of confidence as he took a deep breath. "I know I've made a ton of mistakes. I'm definitely not trying to ignore those, or pretend that I can fix everything again, because we saw how well that went. But... I can promise that I'm trying my best to just be whatever Sophie needs me to be right now."

Grady closed his eyes. "You really do care about her, don't you?" he asked, but there was resignation in his tone. Like he was forcing himself to come to terms with something he had known all along.

Keefe nodded. "More than you know."

"Does she know?"

The question surprised Keefe. He'd never really thought about that.

"I'm not sure," he answered truthfully, fidgeting with a blade of grass.

Grady opened his eyes. "Okay," he said, running a hand through his hair. "What if we... started over? You get a blank slate. I stop holding my grudges for your mistakes."

Keefe looked up. "I'd like that."

Grady smiled, and stretched out a hand. Keefe took it, and Grady held firm. "On one condition."

Keefe held his breath. "What?"

Grady's smile turned slightly mischievous. "You have to do something-anything-to make sure she knows how you feel."

Keefe grinned. "Deal."

They shook on it, pulling themselves to their feet. Grady managed the biggest surprise of the night when he pulled Keefe into a hug, and Keefe fought to keep the stupid tears from welling at the fatherly gesture.

"Thank you," he whispered when Grady pulled away.

Grady squeezed his shoulder. "Anytime, kiddo. Anytime."