Match-A Sophie and Fitz Story

Chapter Nine

Y'all are so sweet. These past few chapters I've been getting so much support and love and it's just a really special thing for me so thank you all who are reading this and I hope this story helps you somehow, like it helps me. Go Sophitz!

Sophie slowly stood and got up from her metal chair, turning back to look at Fitz as she followed the tall representative out of the room. He nodded reassuringly, which made her feel a little better.

A little.

She was still stressed out of her mind.

The elf addressed Sophie again. "I noticed your regrainer was broken when I returned to the other room. Did you break it on accident? Or from frustration?"

Sophie thought of the best way to answer, knowing telepathic conversations weren't exactly smiled upon when they shared information that wasn't meant to be known yet. "It was on accident. I wasn't trying to force the peg through the obstacles," she added hastily.  "I just got startled because I heard a noise and dropped it." It wasn't a lie, exactly. Fitz's mental voice was technically a noise. Just not the kind she was implying. Still, she secretly hoped the representative wasn't an Empath. He seemed satisfied, so she guessed he wasn't.

"Miss Foster, please have a seat," he said when they'd arrived at the room across the hall. She fanned out her flowy red dress in an obviously nervous way as she sat down. He raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything about it. Instead, he began to explain a similar setup to what Fitz had warned her about.  "Now; I am going to ask you a series of questions about Mister Vacker and your relationship with him. I am no Empath nor Telepath, so I will not be able to tell if you are truthful on the relationship questions, but your answers on the partner knowledge section will be checked by this." He held up Fitz's filled out packet. "Do you understand?"

She cleared her throat. "Yes."

"Wonderful. Let's begin. First question: What is Mister Vacker's middle name?"

"Avery." She brushed her fingers over her Cognate rings.

"Next question—"

"Oh, you're not going to tell me if I'm correct?"

"No. It's policy." She nodded, even more nervous. At least she could reach out to Fitz for help. "Next question: How many siblings does Mister Vacker have?"

"Two, But he hates his older brother." Sophie kind of hated Alvar, too, now that she thought about it. Thank goodness Flori healed her echo.

"What is Mister Vacker's favorite color?"

"...Red." She bit her lip, hoping she was right.

"Who is Mister Vacker's best friend?"

And on and on they went. There must have been a hundred questions, growing steadily more embarrassing until they reached the final question.

"From a physical standpoint, what would you say Mister Vacker is most attracted to in you?"

Sophie's cheeks suddenly became hot. Not just because the question made her want to crawl under her chair and squeal, but also because she had no idea what the answer was. So....

Hey Fitz? I need help on a question.

Shoot, he replied.

Um...it's kind of embarrassing.

It can't be that bad. Just blurt it out and regret it later.

Okay...

Sophie?

Sorry. Still here. He's asking...whatdoyouthinkisthemostattractivepartofme?

...Come again?

She sighed. The representative looked at her and tapped his Elvin watch. What do you think is the most attractive part of me?

Oh.  He paused. That is embarrassing.

I told you.

Well...I'd have to say your hair.

My hair? Sophie suppressed a giggle for the representative's sake. "I think he likes my hair," she said. She turned her attention back to Fitz as the blonde elf described the DNA test. Why my hair, of all things?

I don't know. It's cute. And it smells nice. It makes you look really approachable, I guess.

Aww. I never knew you were a hair guy.

Neither did I, actually.

Well, I think—oh! DNA test is starting. Give me a second.

No problem.

"I said, please swab the inside of your cheeks."

"Sorry. I just zoned out for a second." She ran the soft swab around in her mouth until it was sufficiently gross with her saliva. "Here." He took the swab and handed her a plastic-wrapped comb from his uniform pocket.

"Use this to comb your hair until you have five loose strands." Sophie did as she was told, going the extra mile and combing out six loose hairs. The representative put them in a small plastic bag with her name on it and stood. "It looks like you're all finished here," he said. You may return to the other room with Mister Vacker while I run some tests and get your results."

"It's that quick?" Wow. She gave an impressed nod.

"These things don't take as much time when there are only two elves to consider." He turned and ushered Sophie out of the room. She opened the door the the first room to see Fitz struggling with his regrainer. On the back of his packet was a list of numbers scrawled in pen, and he was muttering to himself.

"Hey, I'm back!"

His head snapped up. "Hi! How'd it go?" He stood and gave her a hug; a wonderful, unexpected gesture.

"Really well, actually. It was super embarrassing, but I made it through."

"I knew you could do it!" He looked at her happily for a moment before continuing to scrunch his eyebrows at his bronze puzzle. "Hey, what's a three-digit—"

"One hundred and nineteen."

He clicked the pieces into place and moved the peg. "Wow. I must say, I'm impressed." He flashed his signature movie-star smile. Sophie melted.

"Hey, what's your favorite color?"

"Red." His eyes trailed down her fitted, hidden-pocketed, bejeweled crimson dress. (Edaline had insisted she own a formal red gown.) He looked back into her eyes. "Why?"

"Just wondering. I answered red in my interview, but I was making sure."

"Well, you do know me pretty well," he started. "But you are my gir—"

SOPHIE! COME! SEE BABY! SEE BABY!