Together?- A SOPHITZ fanfiction (UPDATES ON HOLD)

Not prepared for this

"Sophie!" Marella called out, before pulling her into a hug. Sophie was momentarily stunned but hugged her back for a moment before she pulled away. "Ugh, I'm SO glad this whole mess is over, I swear I felt like I was suffocating under that load of work. And congrats! Regent, that's a title!" her friend said in her rapid-fire speech. Sophie laughed lightly.

"Yeah, I don't know what to make of that..." Marella rolled her eyes. "Please. You're Sophie Foster. You'll be able to do it like you always do it; showing off in all ways humanly possible without intending to do it. Alright, gotta go say hi to some people and steal some indigoobers off the refreshment table." She dashed off, braids swishing lightly behind her.

Sophie smiled, feeling content, the weight of her new cape resting comfortably on her shoulders. She wouldn't be able to wear it for long but for now, she would enjoy the sense of normalcy it brought to her life. People called out greetings and congratulations as they weaved through the crowd of prodigies and their families, the feeling of relief palpable in the air.

A small reception was held outside in the purple grass of the Foxfire grounds, streamers covering the different buildings and little refreshment tables placed here and there. Prodigies said goodbye to their longtime friends who would be taking up different positions in the Lost Cities, some continuing their studies, others jumping right into their professional careers.

Dex had received an offer to work with the council's team of technopaths as an apprentice, which Sophie was both proud of him for accomplishing and dismayed that they would be in close proximity... after. Marella was undecided as to what to do because being one of the only pyrokinetics didn't give her many opportunities (unless she wanted to work for the council, which she wasn't too up for the idea).

As for her other friends, they would be splitting up as well, Lhouna to become a Mentor, Cleorie to take a break and work at a jewelry shop in Atlantis (and to explore her match list), and Mativelle to begin her initiation to work at the Sanctuary. As for Biana, Sophie did not know- in fact, she had not seen Alden, Della, or Fitz at the reception, which struck her as strange.

After saying goodbye to Dex and a few other people, Sophie started to make her way towards where Grady and Edaline were situated, at the back and the furthest away from the crowd. They were still not comfortable around large groups of people despite Sophie, but she didn't feel bitter about it in any way. Their road to recovery from losing their daughter still promised to be long.

Just as she spotted them from behind a pair of people, Sophie's heart stopped. There, talking to her adoptive parents, were Alden and Della, the last people she wanted to see. Fitz and Biana were nowhere to be found. They spoke in hushed whispers with Grady and Edaline, twisting away from the crowd. The expressions on their faces made Sophie's heartache, though.

Della's beautiful face was ashen, her clothes looking horribly simple for her normal style. She blinked weakly, her vanisher abilities seemingly affected by her mood. In fact, she looked almost plain, a word Sophie never thought in a million years she'd use to describe Della. Alden didn't look much better.

His normally perfectly pressed clothes looked wrinkled in some spots, his usual neatly combed hair now looking limp, bags under his eyes that could've rivaled Edaline's pre-Sophie ones. No more was the impeccably presented Vackers. They seemed to have been replaced by the weary Juline Dizznee meets Edaline and strangely, Eeyore from Winnie-the-pooh.

Sophie couldn't imagine what they were going through. Fitz's condition had upended their life. She was about to turn away, not wanting to infringe on their moment, when the pair standing in front of her left and Sophie was spotted by her proud parents. She wanted to shake her head no to give them a sign that it was a bad, bad idea, but they obliviously waved and called out her name.

"Sophie! Come say hello to Alden and Della," they exclaimed. Sophie sighed, her cover blown. This would be so, so awkward. She resisted the urge to run away and slid over, aware of their eyes on her. When she arrived, she gave a meek smile, said hello, and looked at her feet. "Hello, Sophie. Congratulations on your results," said Della. She sounded so, so weary.

"Thank you," Sophie replied politely, almost feeling the tension in the air. Thank goodness the Black Swan didn't give her the empath ability. Had she been gifted with it, she may have died of shame during this conversation. "So, as I was saying before you joined us, Sophie, I was thinking it would be a good idea that you spend some time aiding Fitz in his recovery, with you being Cognates and all," said Alden.

Sophie's head snapped up. Had she heard him correctly? Help Fitz? After her being responsible for the mess he was in? "S-sorry? I thought... I thought..." Sophie stammered. Alden and Della shared a look and Alden's eyes darkened with understanding. "Ah. So that is why you and Biana haven't been speaking, I presume? She thought you were responsible?" he asked gently, his face a frown of genuine concern.

Sophie nodded miserably, hoping her tears would not fall. "And you believed her?" Edaline asked, aghast. Sophie nodded again. "Oh, my poor girl," Della said, pulling her into a hug. "You were never responsible. Biana just misunderstood Elwin's diagnostic. Fitz was hurt because of the events of the past few years, not you. Goodness, never you," she said.

Sophie relaxed in her arms. Della had always felt like a motherly figure. And while Sophie wasn't convinced of her reassurances that she was not responsible or at least part of the problem, she was glad they didn't hold a grudge on her like Biana. "But then how? He... was doing so well! And then all of a sudden..." Sophie sniffled, still confused.

Grady shook his head. "He had just reached his breaking point. He was trying to hold on but couldn't do it. Minds are fragile things, and eventually, they succumb to the pressure, whether you want it to or not. That being said, though, we may have been able to prevent the severity of the situation had you been more... present." "Which we understand, of course, your studies are always of most importance," Edaline added on.

They were doing a feeble job at trying to comfort her, Sophie thought, but while she was unsure that she could ever look Fitz in the eyes again, let alone help him recover, part of her was glad that it was not entirely her fault that her best friend, cognate, crush, and former boyfriend was impaired. She listened quietly, mulling over the conversation they had had as Grady, Edaline, Alden, and Della discussed their children's' upcoming future.

She did not see Fitz coming behind her, did not see him stop as if an invisible force had screwed him onto the ground, his labored breathing and manic expression. She did not see him check his watch or pull out his tattered calendar to count the days again. She did not see his shoulders relax, his eyes brighten, the hand he ran through his short-cropped hair as he realized who she was. But she did hear him call out her name.

"Sophie?" his papery voice called out, the voice Sophie could have recognized anywhere. She spun around, fear and regret in her eyes as she saw his frail frame, gaunt face, and the shabby little calendar he clutched in his hands as if it were his lifeline. Sophie brought her hand to cover her mouth to muffle her squeak before saying, "I have to go," to the surprised adults, then turning on her heels and running towards the nearest Leapmaster, ignoring Fitz's calls for her to come back.

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Long chapter to make up for the short ones, and on time... you should give me an award!

I'm estimating that there are *about* 10ish more chapters to go until Together will be complete. I will of course be doing a thorough editing job because some of these chapters I wrote when I was 12... yikes.

Thanks for those of you who reminded people that I do in fact update on Wednesdays. I'll try every week, but sometimes I have to skip to every other because of school.

Thanks for reading! Lots of love!

-OrbitAstra 💫

p.s. if you like the story... maybe... vote? teehee