Every Ice Blue Cloud Has a Silver Lining

The Final Fight - Part Two

Keefe:

Keefe stood on the battlefield, no armour, no weapons, and only his wits. And how, he had been stripped of that too.

"Mom?" His voice was a whisper on the raging battlefield, but his mother heard clear.

"Yes, it is me," The voice let down their hood, and sure enough, Lady Gisella, tight blond bun, cold eyes and piercing stare was smiling at Keefe. "I'm sure you have many questions."

"Questions?" Keefe breathed. "Questions doesn't even begin to cover it! Where have you been? Are you alive? Dead? Why did you do any of this? And why did you have to leave dad and me?"

"These are lovely questions. You get the insightfulness from me." She opened her arms out, her nails matching the blood she spilt. "Come, Keefe, to your new home."

Keefe's body went limp every time she spoke. He didn't notice the guards latch his hands behind his back in handcuffs. He didn't notice the tears streaming from his eyes. He didn't notice the creases on his mother's shift downward.

"Keefe, we don't have all the time in the world." She made eye contact with Keefe. "I've missed you. But bringing you here was the best decision I ever made."

"It was you," Keefe's upper lip quivered. "You were the person who captured me. It was you, wasn't it?"

"I knew your father's stupidity hadn't seeped in," she smiled. "Well done, Keefe. Yes, it was me. I'd never deny to test your skill."

"What?"

"Keefe, I'll be as clear as I can." She took three steps toward Keefe. "You can come, or you can attempt leaving. One will have you living with me, the other will have you living in the closet. I know you'll make good decisions."

Gisella's voice run in the silence and in Keefe's head. All eyes were on him and his eyes were roaming the scene.

"No," he said, a moment before he had thought it through fully. But he was sure and ready. "I won't come with you."

Gisella's smile fell. She dug in his pocket and pulled out a gun and aimed it to Keefe's forehead. "You failed."

She pressed a trigger, and a bullet flew through the air and through Keefe's chest. Keefe stared a second, stunned, before the pain hit. He hit the ground with the thud and heard screams ringing in the distance. Hands felt his wound, but he couldn't tell their faces.

"Keefe! Stay with me," the low voice was trembling and wrapping cloth around the wound. "This was not the plan. I'm ordering you, Keefe, you better stay with me."

Keefe could conjure up just one coherent thought.

Tam.

His eyes clothes and he could feel the world slipping away. The last thing he could hear was sobbing. He was sure there was tears on his body, but he couldn't feel them.

Keefe's body lay completely limp in Tam's lap.

"Keefe," Tam whispered. "I know it's way too late for this right now, but I'm going to say it anyway. I got captured and thought that I would hate beyond comprehension everyone in that wretched place. But I would be so wrong if I said that it stayed true.

"You are insane, Keefe, and I can't even think straight when I look at you. I can't begin to explain how you've changed my life. But the one thing that you have done for me that I can say is you gave me hope. Okay? You have me the flicker that I would escape, and that changed everything.

"That, and you. I guess what I'm saying is, I love you."

The words shocked him back from the pearly gates.

I love you.

He never thought he'd hear that from anyone, let alone Tam Song.

"I know it's far too late for you to even reject me, but I'm just going to hope you heard it from up above. Or below, I guess."

"That's pretty hopeless thinking there for someone who's life was changed by hope." Keefe's voice was weak and quiet, but enough for Tam to hear. He let out a scream.

"Keefe?" His mouth was wide open and his eyes the same.

"Hey, Bangsie," Keefe managed a smile. "How's it going?"

"Wait." The gears in Tam's mind were turning. "So, did you hear everything I said?"

"Every word." Keefe confirmed. Tam blushed a deep shade of pink.

"Came back to life just to reject me." Tam muttered. "Typical."

"Who said anything about rejection?"

Tam stared at him. "Are you serious? Actually serious?"

"As serious as I could be."

"So, can I . . . May I?" He didn't finish, but his eyes were on Keefe's lips, and Keefe could only nod.

Tam planted his lips on Keefe and his hand under the blond boy's head. Tam's lips were exactly how he expected them to feel: sweet with a touch of salt and slightly chapped. Keefe kissed back, a blush warming his cheeks.

Keefe opened his eyes and fixed them on Tam. "That was really good. You're good at that. Have any practice recently?"

"Keefe!"

Keefe eyes scanned the battlefield. Dead bodies laid without armour on the sand, and the dirt wasn't clouding the sky anymore.

"What happened?"

"I did." Marella said. If Keefe had the energy to move away, he would have. But instead, he was staring at her blue eyes, watery and a million colours. "I'm sorry. I know that will never, ever make anything I did right, but I just need to say it. I know that you probably can't forgive me, not in the near future, and I totally understand why, but I'm sorry."

Keefe let the silence set for a minute. "What happened around here?"

"Marella lit everyone – except us – on fire." Biana piped up. Her hair tied in a bun and a sword in her hand, she looked nothing like the Biana Keefe knew.

"It was a simple trick, really," Marela shrugged.

Another period of silence.

"If you're expecting a speech, you aren't getting one." Keefe huffed. "And I knew all along."

Marella hung her head, but she had a small smile.

Biana slumped her shoulders and sat on the floor.

Dex fiddled with one of his gadgets.

Ro wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead.

Linh took all the moisture from the environment and drank it.

Tam stared at Keefe with silent adoration.

And Keefe?

Keefe just lay in Tam's hands, in pain, but never feeling better.

Even with no way home, as of yet, he was free, the one thing he wanted to be. No lack of plan, money or food and shelter could change that. He let the feeling settle.

And he let it stay.