Let me show you - A Sokeefe story

Drowning

Sophie knew the water would be cold but she had only gone ankle deep and she was already sure her toes had gone numb, but still, her and Keefe slowly walked on. His hand was warm around hers, she used that warmth to try to regulate her body temperature but she could barely keep her focus. Thinking too much about how cold she was caused her to misstep and stumble forward, if Keefe hadn't wrapped his arm around her waist she would have fallen face-first into the ocean.

"Woah there, Foster." He kept his arm around her to help her steady herself. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to dive into the shallow end?" She could hear the smirk on his face, "It's like the first rule of swimming, Foster."

     Sophie pulled his arm away from her and trudged deeper into the ocean until the water rested right above her belly button. She looked down at her feet, amazed that she could still see them. She had never been in water so clear before. She passed her hand over the surface letting the ice water graze her palm.
"It's peaceful isn't it?" Sophie jumped at the sound of his voice. She didn't know if she just wasn't paying attention or if the sound of the waves and the wind muffled his movements but she hadn't noticed Keefe had walked up beside her.
He was standing so close it was impossible to ignore now.
"It's peaceful, the water." He repeated himself, probably assuming she hadn't heard him. She looked up to find him staring down at her and not the water like she thought he would be. His gaze was too intense, Sophie had to look back down at the water.

"Oh um, yeah.. It is." It wasn't a lie, she just hadn't realized how right he was. There was something about the water that refused to let you be anything but calm. Sophie smiled up at Keefe, "it's beautiful too. I've never seen water this clear before. It's nothing like the ocean back home.." She snapped her head back down to look at the water, "Back in San Diego.. I didn't mean to...." Sophie could feel her eyes starting to burn.

     Keefe closed the gap between, "It's okay. I know what you meant, Soph." Sophie didn't know when Keefe had started calling her 'Soph' so much, but everytime he did it was like he was pulling directly at her heart. She was so used to him calling her Foster, Mysterious Miss F, or even occasionally Lovely Lady Foster, all of which were normal to her now. In fact it was completely abnormal when he called her by her first name, typically it meant something was wrong and it almost always made her worry. Which was how she ended up in the ocean at what was probably 3 in the morning.
     But Soph was different... Something about it seemed more personal, more intimate, it made her stomach flutter in a way she didn't trust.
     She couldn't hold in her winced reaction, noticing, Keefe mumbled an apology taking a small step back.

     Sophie wasn't sure she had even wanted him to move away from her, but god it felt good to breath again. It had been so long since Keefe and her had spent any time alone and now things felt different. She hated that.

     She didn't want Keefe to feel like he had made things weird, tonight was about helping him and being there for him. Putting her feelings aside she took a step towards him, "Keefe, I-" her words were cut off by the fact that her foot was slipping out from under her, she could feel herself losing her balance she tried to use her arms to help her regain her balance- but she probably just looked like a flailing idiot.

    "I gotcha, Foster." Sophie took in a sharp breath, a zing worked its way through her body starting at her waist where Keefe's arms were both wrapped around holding her steady. She hadn't noticed but she had instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. She could barely catch her breath, misinterpreting her emotions Keefe tried to reassure her, "don't worry, I'm not going to let you fall." 
     Sophie couldn't stop her eyes from trailing down from his eyes to his nose.. she hadn't noticed before how many freckles he had, down to his mouth- one side of his mouth was curved up into what could eventually become a smirk, but right now it just looked like a very concerned half smile. without her telling it to her hand moved to his jaw, her thumb resting less than an inch away from his mouth. His face warmed under her touch, forcing her eyes to retreat back to his eyes-
     She didn't think his ice blue eyes could get more intense than they already were, she was wrong. He was looking at her so intently she could feel the hand on his check start to tremble slightly. Keefe must have felt it too, because he moved one of his hands from around her waist and placed it on top of hers.
     Sophie swallowed hard, opening her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She slowly closed her mouth, biting her bottom lip in the process. The slight movement pulled Keefe's eyes to her mouth for just a moment. "Sophie..-"
     Keefe seemed just as surprised as She did at the low gravelly tone of his voice. He moved his face closer to hers, not by much barely an inch, still close enough for her to feel his breath on her cheeks. Sophie tried to suppress the shiver it sent down her spine. She just stood there, frozen. Her brain was completely unable to process what was happening.

     She'd thought knots in her stomach were bad, but right now her stomach felt like it had flipped completely upside down. The pit of her stomach started to burn.

     Keefe closed his eyes tightly and his grip on her waist loosened. He cleared his throat making it clear to Sophie that he had felt everything that was happening in her stomach. She quickly pulled both of her hands away.

     They both mumbled rushed apologies as they put space between their bodies. Keefe's hand instantly went to the back of his head, a sad smile forming on his lips.

Why couldn't Sophie stop looking at his lips? Had they always looked so soft? So perfectly pink?

"you okay?" His concerned tone pulled Sophie's attention back to his eyes. She couldn't help but smile at the deep wrinkle setting between his brows as he scrunched them together. He acted as if none of what had just happened was awkward, his only concern was to make sure she was okay.
     It was so.. Keefe of him.  Others always came before himself.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She kept her tone even and cool, making sure Keefe believed her.

     After being so close she couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness at how far apart they seemed to be now. She risked a step closer to him taking his hand, "come on. Let's go a little further"

     Sophie kept her focus on the water, willing herself not to trip. The water level hadn't gotten much higher, but when She looked back towards the shore she could just barely make out two figures who she could only assume were arguing. One sitting lazily in a chair, Ro of course, and Sandor was pacing in front of her.

     Turning back to Keefe she cocked her head to the side, "why are you looking at me like that?" He looked so much softer now than she'd seen him before.
"Like what?" He prodded, arching a single eyebrow.
She rolled her eyes, "like that," raising her hand out of the water to point at him causing water to splash in his face.
The start of a grin appeared on his face, "I can assure you, Mysterious Miss F, I have no idea what you mean." He brought his own hand up, flicking water purposefully at her.

     She gaped at him, a small sound that can only be described as a squeak escaped her. She lightly splashed water at him.

His grin turned mischievous, "Oh it's on, Foster!" He quickly splashed her back almost completely soaking her t-shirt.
She squealed, putting her hands up to attempt, and apparently fail to block the water. "Keeeefe," she moaned, "stop" She could barely get it out before she erupted in laughter. She splashed back at him.

     After going back and forth like that for a while Keefe finally put both of his hands up, "okay okay." He let out a short laugh, "I surrender"
Sophie grumbled softly, her hair was completely drenched and somehow Keefe had managed to not get nearly as soaked as she did. The wind blowing caused her to slightly shiver, "I thought you were supposed to be keeping me warm, hm?" She joked, wringing out her hair.
A smirk slowly creeping onto Keefe's face as he stepped towards her, "Is that all I am to you, Foster?"
"Basically." She teased.
He let out a low chuckle, "okay, come on." He opened his arms, nodding, "all of my warmth is ready for the taking, Foster."

Sophie thought for a moment and stepped forward into his arms putting her arms around his neck. He tensed slightly, not expecting her to give in so easily. He started to  wrap his arms around her back, but Sophie moved her hands up to the top of his head and pushed him down into the water.

She quickly backed away laughing as he surfaced. His blonde hair was flopped awkwardly around his face, dripping down him.

"Okay.." He dragged out his words as he shook his head in a manner that reminded Sophie of a dog. "I probably deserved that." He couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"Oh you definitely deserved that. Sophie rebutted, arching an eyebrow.
Keefe just nodded and said, "fair." He turned towards the shore.

"We should probably head back, before Sandor comes in after us." He turned to look at her, almost as if he was asking for permission. "I'm sure all your screaming and squealing has been driving him crazy."
"You're probably right." She couldn't help herself from feeling a little sad, she didn't want to go back. This was the first time in a long time that Keefe has seemed genuinely happy. She worried that if they left the water they would leave all of the happy moments with it. She closed the gap between them, "Lets go slow though."

     Keefe's gaze softened, "Whatever you want, Foster."