Mirrored Conflicts (a Sokeefe story)

Chapter 21: The Morning

When Sophie leaned over onto his shoulder, Keefe considered gently shaking her and telling her she should go to her room if she's finally tired enough to sleep. But she looked so... content, and he was worried that if he interrupted her now, she wouldn't sleep at all. So he let her drift off.

Once he started feeling his own eyelids grow heavy, he tried to maneuver them into a more comfortable position, so they were both horizontal on the couch. Careful not to disturb her, he made sure she was still warm under the blankets before he allowed himself to drift off.

The only thing he was thinking about in the moment was how peaceful she looked, and how... nice it was that they were both able to trust each other this way.

Born archenemies, not afraid in the slightest to fall asleep beside each other.

What he failed to consider was the fact that he was under the same roof as her kind, doting, very protective parents.

So when Keefe woke up in the morning, blinking his eyes lazily and adjusting to his circumstances, it took him a moment to register that he was in Havenfield, lying on a couch with Sophie curled up with her head on his shoulder. It then took him another moment to register both Ruewens staring down at them, different expressions on their faces that were both very meaningful.

Edaline, despite the twinkle in her eye, looked like she wanted an immediate explanation.

Grady looked like he was about to somehow send him to exile.

Keefe glanced down at the girl leaning laying beside him. Her expression was so peaceful. He couldn't wait for her to wake up so he could tell her how adorable she was when she was sleeping and see her blush. For now, he used the arm that wasn't wrapped around Sophie to lift a finger to his lips, indicating that they should be quiet, and then nodding towards their still-sleeping daughter.

Grady raised an eyebrow incredulously.

"She hasn't gotten good sleep in weeks," Keefe whispered.

Grady pursed his lips together, clearly still very unhappy about this, but begrudgingly deciding it was important to let his daughter sleep. Suddenly, Keefe didn't care about letting Sophie know how cute she was when she slept. He didn't need her to wake up any time soon, actually. She could just keep sleeping. That was fine. It really was. She could sleep forever and Keefe would never have to tell Grady and Edaline who he was.

They probably knew, by now, that Sophie had a nemesis in the Neverseen. Edaline had seen Sophie passionately kiss him as Lumenaria crumbled around them, and now she and Grady had both seen the two of them curled up together asleep on their couch. They were going to have questions. And when they found out that he was the one the Neverseen engineered to stop her... possibly even kill her...

They were not going to like him.

And they were definitely not going to approve of him being her boyfriend.

Maybe they didn't need to mention the asking-her-to-be-his-girlfriend-at-midnight thing.

Grady took a seat close to the two of them, eyeing them closely as Edaline walked away into the kitchen. Keefe realized that from Grady's perspective, he was the guy who stumbled into the house with Grady and Edaline, with Edaline and Sophie promising to explain the next morning. Now Grady had come downstairs ready to have his questions answered only to find him sleeping on the couch with his daughter, who, last time he'd seen her, had been going to sleep in her own room.

This was certainly going to be a conversation.

Keefe could tell the moment Sophie began to wake up by the shift in her mood, indicating more awareness, which was followed shortly by her beginning to shift as she woke up. She yawned and blinked as she opened her eyes, taking a moment to remember why she wasn't in her bed.