Forbidden Cities

Dinner

Sophie has never been good at cooking. Every time she's tried, she's either burnt something or someone. Keefe, on the other hand, is apparently a gourmet chef.

He's chopping vegetables on the stove with satisfying slices. Sophie peers over his shoulder, appalled. "How did you learn to cook?" 

Keefe dices tomatoes at lightning speed, barely avoiding his fingers in the process, "Eh, I just picked it up here and there. I'm used to making my own dinner," He shrugs. He picks up the cutting board and scrapes the veggies into a boiling pot of water. Hot steam erupts with a sizzling noise. Sophie backs up, not wanting to burn herself again. "You made your own dinner in Candleshade? What about the gnomes?" 

"My parents used to order the gnomes to take a break after they made lunch for them, so I would go to Shores of Solace and use the vegetables there to make my own food. Dad never really cared where I went so..." Keefe shrugs again. Sophie tentatively puts a steadying hand on his forearm, "I'm sorry," 

"It's not your fault. I should be thankful, actually. My parents are the reason I have yet another amazing quality, right beside my handsomeness and artistic skills." 

Sophie grimaces, "They shouldn't have treated you like that, Keefe. When we go back to the Lost Cities, you can come over and have dinner at Havenfield if you want." She walks around the counter, taking a seat on one of the tall barstools. Placing her head in her hands, she watches Keefe finish the soup he's making. 

"Thanks, Foster." Keefe mutters. "So... you think you're going to go back to the Lost Cities, huh?" 

Sophie gulps, "I... thought about it. I'm still the moonlark, and I've been feeling kind of guilty for leaving. I'm supposed to save everyone, y'know?" 

She watches Keefe take a deep breath. He places his hands on the counter as he sucks in air, fighting something in his own head. "Yeah... I guess that makes sense. You shouldn't feel guilty, though. You needed a break that no one in the Lost Cities was willing to give you." 

"I know." 

They both sit in silence, enjoying their soup as they stare at the floor. Sophie is stuck in her own mind, not being able to shake the way Keefe's face looked when she talked about going home. Does he want to live in London forever? There's no way Ro would let him, and now that Dex knows where Sophie and Keefe are living, it won't be long before the rest of their friends and family show up here too. But if he doesn't want to leave, Sophie can't force him. She has to go back. But would she be willing to leave Keefe if he doesn't go back with her? 

Keefe scrapes the bottom of his empty bowl with his spoon, pulling Sophie from her drowning thoughts. "Whatcha thinking about, Foster?" 

"N-nothing," She stumbles. Sophie hands Keefe her empty bowl, which he places carefully in the sink. 

"No, I know that face."

"What face?" 

"The face that means you're overthinking something," 

Sophie sighs, "I just... I was just thinking about us." 

Keefe raises an eyebrow, "Us?" 

"This." She gestures in between them, cheeks flushed. "Are you going to come back with me when we go to the Lost Cities?" 

He snorts, "I don't have much of a choice, do I?" 

 "No you don't!" Ro shouts from a different room, loud enough for the neighbors to hear her. She's probably taking a bubble bath. Ro has really taken a liking to all the fancy human appliances the hotel came with, and Sophie has walked in on her taking a bath numerous times. 

Sophie turns her head away, hiding behind her hair. "You always have a choice. You can... go to a different human city and... leave me behind again." She wants to take back the words as soon as she says them. Sophie is acting like a child, Keefe should be allowed to do whatever he wants without her guilting him into it. 

"Foster..." Keefe comes up beside her. He puts his hand over hers gently, "I'm not going to leave you, Sophie. I'll be right there with you when you go be the moonlark for the Lost Cities." 

Sophie tears up, "Ok," 

He pulls away, grinning. "Ok. So..." He pauses, training his eyes on a specific spot on the floor, "When do you... when do you wanna leave London?" 

Sophie studies him, studies all the fear behind his eyes. He obviously doesn't want to leave yet. And if Keefe doesn't want to leave, neither does Sophie. 

She bites her lip, "Until Ro and Sandor force us back home." 

School starts tomorrow... that means a lot less stories and a lot less posting at midnight. I'm going to write a few stories today and schedule them to 'publish later' though, so you guys are still going to get stories.