KOTLC Sleepover

Day Five

Sophie could barely sleep last night. Not when Keefe was right next to her. So when her friends accidentally slept in later than normal, she took the opportunity to try and get as much sleep as possible. 

The glow of early morning sun is already shining through the window, directly hitting a sleeping Fitz right in his eyes. All of Sophie's friends are already sleeping. She makes a mental note to tease Tam about his elephant snores when he wakes up. 

She turns over in bed, looking at a napping Keefe. He's laying on his back, hands tucked under his head comfortably. Even in his sleep he looks smug. Sophie absentmindedly shifts closer to him, putting her arms around his stomach and nestling against his chest. Keefe's warmth is like a drug, and she already feels her eyes fluttering closed. 

"Foster?" Keefe whispers. He untucks a hand from behind his head, running it behind her head and through her hair. Sophie shivers when his finger brushes her lower neck.

Sophie groans, "Go to sleep."

"I was doing just that, but then you tackled me so-"

"I did not tackle you," She snaps, pulling her head back to place her chin on his chest. Keefe is artfully mussed, hair messy and shirt crinkled. His eyes are half drooped, ice blue boring into her when he meets her gaze. "I was awake all night." 

Keefe snorts quietly, "Thinking of me?" 

"No," 

He nods a few times, a smug smirk spreading across his lips smoothly. His hand slips around Sophie's stomach, rubbing tiny strokes with his thumb. "So... how long do you think we have until they wake up?" 

"I'm not sure," She whispers, "But it should be soon, they haven't slept this late all week." 

"Yeah, they were up late last night baking something called 'lava cake'," 

"I used to eat lava cake all the time for my birthday. It's like... hot melted chocolate-y cake. I think you would love it." Sophie grins. 

Keefe smiles back, leaning in to press a tender kiss to her forehead, "We should go to the Forbidden Cities sometime and try it." 

"Yes we should." 

They sit in silence for a few seconds, taking in each other's presence and warmth. Sophie watches as Linh stirs, groaning and rubbing her head. She doesn't wake up, though. 

Keefe whispers, "So... birthdays, huh? Tell me what those are like." 

"Um... It's been a while but I think my birthday was sometime in July. Basically, you have a party once every year to celebrate the day you were born, and that you've been alive this long. People get you presents and have to be nice to you all day; I would know, since I was always the weird girl, and my birthday was the one day that no one messed with me at school. Sorry, I'm ranting." 

"No, no, Keep talking, I like it." 

Sophie clears her throat as quietly as possible, "Okay. Well, as I was saying... it was the one day of the year I was actually happy. Because I was always the 12 year old girl in high school, obviously. I was just... the weird girl," Sophie lets out a bitter laugh, "That much hasn't changed." 

Keefe presses a kiss to her hair.

"But... yeah. It's better here, though. I'm still super weird, but at least I fit in a little bit more. It's like here, I'm... the important kind of weird. People depend on me for my weirdness. I belong here. At least more than I belonged in the human world." 

"I know you belong here." Keefe whispers. 

"How do you know that?" 

"Because I know you belong with me," He says sweetly, pressing another firm kiss to her head. "We belong together, Sophie."