KOTLC One-shots

Together- Sokeefitz

Word count: ~1200 words

Wowee i had genuine inspiration for this i had a shower thought. Anywayd Alden is a little ooc but he basically did do this in canon so not really too ooc. Either way I no longer like alden so it doesn't matter to me, but just to let yall know. Oh and also it technically takes place after that initial conversation in the flashback short story, but also I'm ignoring most of canon, aka sophitz haven't gotten together yet

Keefe entered Everglen, only to find Sophie and Fitz staring into each other's eyes again. Not for the first time in his life, he wondered why he had to be an empath instead of a telepath. Then he'd be able to join in on the conversations. Talk to Foster and help create plans, joke around with Fitz without anyone noticing. All he wanted was to be included.

He glanced at them again and sighed. They were cute together, and they did make a good team. Sophie was blushing, and he wished that he was the one making it happen.

There was a laugh from Fitz. Loud yet soft, a series of giggles before he snorted. Yeah... Fitz Vacker would snort-laugh, his voice surprisingly high. If one looked into his eyes, they would see teal eyes gleaming. Slightly different shades of blue swirling like ocean waves.

Really, Keefe shouldn't have been able to notice it, not at the distance he was at. But still, he was able to see the motions that Fitz made when he was truly happy. It'd been a while since he'd seen Fitz so joyful... and it was usually him who would cause the reaction. But... things had changed, Keefe had made some poor decisions, and Fitz taken it badly. Not that it was his fault, of course, just the circumstances. Keefe just hoped that they'd be able to patch things over completely, so that one day, it would be be like the old days, where Keefe was able to make him smile.

Wait... For a moment, the dopey smile he usually wore when he was staring at Sophie faded- he didn't even realize he was smiling at all. Did... did he..?

"They're happy together, don't you agree?" Alden asked, standing right beside him.

Keefe nearly jumped, but managed to stay relatively calm. "They are happy," he agreed.

"I get it, it's hard to let go of the one you love. But you have to. They need each other. You'll find the girl for you eventually."

He couldn't bring himself to look into Alden's eyes. "What... what if I don't want to move on?"

"Do you really want to do that to them?" There was something about his tone. Still perfectly calm and composed, but there was something different about it. "Do you want to be the selfish one, who stops their friend from being happy? Do you really want to hurt their feelings that badly? Let her go, Keefe. Don't break your friendship for this."

"I..." He didn't know what to say. Was he really being that selfish? Would this really break his friendships? It wasn't just about Sophie anymore... he wanted both of them to be happy. So shouldn't he just let go to keep them happy?

"I want them to be happy. But I want to be a part of it. I want to give them both joy. I don't want to tear them apart, I want to be joined with them."

He didn't even realize he was looking into teal eyes again. Except... these ones weren't sparkling like the sun shining on the sea. These were like a tidal wave, dangerous.

"Can you clarify? Surely you don't mean that you like-"

"I do." He said. "I like them both. I want to date them both."

"You know that can't happen. It's illogical, impossible. Such a thing is not going to work, and I won't let you plant such ideas into my son's head."

Was... was Alden... completely rejecting the very idea? There didn't seem to be anything wrong with it. Then why..?

"Keefe, you're like my son. I think you need a break from them, you're letting your emotions cloud your judgment. You're letting yourself come to irrational decisions. I don't want you to hurt and embarass yourself, so I think it's best that you think things over. Don't let others get hurt for these... desires of yours."

"Wh-"

"Keefe, when did you get here?" There it was again, that crisp accent. But it wasn't Alden. "Come join us!" Fitz. And Fitz was calling for him.

He wiped his face with his sleeve, making sure that any potential tears were gone. He took a deep breath and turned around, facing teal eyes again. They were so much more welcoming than the ones he'd just been looking at.

Before he could protest, Fitz grabbed his hand and lead him over to Sophie.

"When'd you get here?" Sophie asked. "But at least... are you doing alright?"

No, but he wasn't about to tell them that. So he wore that familiar smirk and told them that he was fine.

"I don't believe you," Fitz said. "Your smirk always goes up left when you're trying to fake it."

Wait what?

"You can tell us what's wrong," Sophie assured him.

"Did it have to do with my dad? He's been a little on edge lately, given everything that's happened recently. What did he say to you?" His voice was gentle, warm arms wrapping around him.

"I know I haven't been the best friend I could be," Fitz continued. "But I care for you a lot, I don't want you to feel upset. You can talk to me, talk to us."

"We won't mention it afterwards," Sophie added. "And we won't force you to tell us if you don't want to."

"I'm in love with both of you." The words spilled out of his mouth. And he said love... which wasn't wrong, but he didn't realize just how far he'd fallen. "I'm jealous of the bond you two share, and I want to be a part of it. But it's not normal, your dad said.

The arms around him stiffened. He definitely should have kept quiet.

"Polyamory," Sophie whispered. "You want to be in a relayionship with the both of us. I don't see anything wrong with that."

"You don't?"

"No," she said, golden brown eyes looking at him. "I have to be honest, I've been torn between choosing you and Fitz, and I forgot to consider that maybe I don't need to choose."

"I'm not sure how I feel," Fitz said. "I know I'm in love with Sophie, but jot with you. But I know my feelings toward you are different, like a seed has been planted, and all it needs is is to grow and become the flower. But it won't grow unless you tend to it."

"So... you might be crushing on me?" Keefe asked.

"Maybe, yeah. And you said my dad doesn't approve of this?"

"Damn elves and their sneaky prejudice," Sophie muttered.

The two boys found themselves laughing at that.

"We can make it work, we can try it out," Sophie promised. "And we can get through it together."

I actually had a different ending in mind, but I ended up taking a karge break in between working, I kinda forgot where I was going with it.

Like, obviously I knew they were gonna get together, but I originally planned post-relationship fluff, and a more major conversation between Alden and Keefe. Well, that's what being a fluff writer does to you, I guess