Book Two: KOTLC One-shots and More

It's A Date (Keefe POV)

A/N: This AU installment depicts Sophie and Keefe's telepathic conversation in "Unlocked", as well as Keefe's goodbye note.

Keefe had been wrapped in a cocoon of misery--or blankets, actually, but he was pretty miserable--when Foster's voice filled his mind, calling his name again and again. He jolted upright and smiled, relief making him almost lightheaded.

"You okay there, Quiet Boy?" Ro asked him. "Ooooh, your girl reached out to you with her little elf-y mind trick, didn't she?"

Keefe nodded before turning his attention to Foster.

You're starting to sound like Silveny, you know.

Hey, Keefe, she responded, sounding as relieved as he felt.

Which just made him feel even worse for agreeing with the Council's decision to have her stay away.

Really, what kind of guy tells his girlfriend--for the first time--that he loves her, then tells her he doesn't want her around?

Ugh, he was such a jerk.

He just...didn't know what else to do.

Sooo...I guess this means you're still talking to me? He asked.

I could say the same to you.

Keefe cringed.

I'm so sorry, Sophie. I just...need to get a handle on this new ability first. And so far, nothing is working. I almost used a command on Dex today.

She was quiet for a second. 'Almost' means that you didn't, right?

Yeah, but it was a MAJOR struggle, so it really doesn't feel like progress. It just feels like the ability didn't catch me by surprise like it did last time. I'm so, so sorry for what I did in the Healing Center. You don't know...Keefe shuddered.

He would never, not in millennia, forget everyone's blank stares or the terror he'd felt knowing it was his doing.

I'm not worried about that, she told him gently. I'm worried about YOU. I want to make sure you're coping, after...everything.

I'm trying. And I swear, somehow, we'll figure this out. And then I promise I'll make it all up to you. I'll make up for making you feel like I didn't want you around. Because seriously, nothing could be farther from the truth. He almost repeated his confession of love, but it just felt wrong, somehow, to say it when she wasn't even there.

He wanted to say it, standing under the Panakes, or somewhere equally romantic. He wanted to be able to say it when he could read her emotions and know how receptive she was to it. He'd felt her warmth in Loamnore right after he'd told her, and that feeling had carried him through everything that came next.

And he wanted to be able to see her face when--if--she said it back.

But judging by how life was going now, that was a pretty big 'if'.

So...are we okay? He asked, half afraid of her answer. Because I'll beg if necessary. I'll even write a poem. An ode to the longsuffering Sophie Foster and all the ways she puts up with her idiot boyfriend.

I'm just relieved to know that you're still calling yourself my boyfriend.

Ouch.

Had she seriously thought...?

Of course I am, Foster, Keefe chided her. I know it feels like everything has changed, now, but...not that. Definitely not that. And I'll prove it to you as soon as I can.